Valentines Verse : Lost Lyrics
by Virgo Writer
Summary: “If you knew that a moment could change ur life forever would u go through with it?I know I wouldn’t but then I never had that choice”Ash has come 2 a point in his life where he has 2 make a decision.Will he follow his heart or someone else’sAAMRN
1. Sing Me A Love Song

"If you knew that a single moment, perhaps little more than a mere second, could change your life forever, would you still go through with it?  I know I wouldn't, but then, I never had that choice." – Ash Ketchum

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon.  I barely even own the plot because it's loosely and I mean very loosely based on Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol'.  That means no Tiny Tim and 'God bless us, everyone' the fundamental moments of the actual story.

This is basically just rewriting Valentines Verse because frankly there are parts in the story that I'm ashamed of, namingly (can you believe that's not a word?! Total outrage) chapter four AKA part III 

Valentines Verse: Lost Lyrics _Part I – Sing Me A Love Song_

" . . . You're not sick, you're just in love," the three girls sand in far from perfect harmony immediately accenting it with a chorus of giggles.

"Suddenly, I don't feel that hungry anymore," she said pushing her plate away.

"We wonder why?" one of the three girls asked knowingly.

"We wonder why?" the other two echoed in singsong voices as they prepared to sing the song once again.

Seventeen-year-old Misty Kasumi Waterflower blushed and looked over to her slightly younger best friend Ash Ketchum hoping he hadn't noticed the red tinge across her usually pale cheeks or caught on to her sisters not so subtle hint.

He simply sat there, staring glumly at his food and mashing it up into tiny pieces.  Misty looked at him sympathetically wishing there was something she could do to make him feel better, he had been this way since they had arrived in Cerulean City for a break from everything.

Coming home to Cerulean was like a Valentines tradition for Misty.  She'd done it for as long as she could remember.  She would go to her parents' graves on Valentines, to celebrate their life, rather than their death, and to celebrate that love they had all shared for each other.

"It doesn't look like either of them are like eating," Lilly stated coyly raising an eyebrow at the two.

"Well no offence Lilly," Misty stated trying to make an excuse for her self, at least.  "But you never have been the best cook in the world."

The three girls shrugged Misty's comment off as if she hadn't said anything at all and began to sing again.  "Love is in the air . . ."

Ash and Misty covered their ears playfully trying to hint to them to stop.  But then Misty's sisters had always been clueless to matters such as . . . well . . . any.

"You want to go for a walk, Ash?" Misty asked trying to get him away from her sisters before they just out and out told him her deepest and darkest secret.

The fact was, she was in love with the boy beside her and had been for quite sometime.  So long that she could barely remember a time when she wasn't in love with him.

Ash nodded and quickly thanked her sisters for the food though practically untouched then left the table going to the hall to grab their jackets.

"Don't be too long," Violet told them.  "Remember you promised to help us decorate for the party."

"How could I ever forget?" Misty replied sarcastically as she too left.

Her sisters threw the biggest and best Valentines Day parties ever which wasn't actually hard seeing as the only people who did anything like that besides them were high schools and rest homes.  Her sisters always had the hottest bands, the most fashionable decorations, the edgiest clothes, and the coolest celebrities at their parties.  It was in a league of it's own and the competition was slim to none.

Ash being the gentleman that he was helped her with her jacket and opened the door for her as they both headed out for their walk.

Misty smiled as she watched the fresh snow float towards the ground.  She tightly wrapped a jacket around herself and Togetic, her youngest and dearest Pokemon keeping it warm as they walked out the door.

Misty's sisters watched them leave.

Daisy sighed.  "Don't you just wish that those to would get together so we could just relax, or something?" she asked her sisters.

They nodded in response.

"Totally," Lilly added.  "I mean, it is so totally obvious the way they act around each other.  It's like they're the only ones who don't see it."

"I wish somebody would just show them how much they need each other, and how bleak their lives could be with out each other," Violet sighed in frustration.

Little did she know, that tonight her wish would come true.

"Ok Ivysaur," Misty called down the Pokemon below.  "Make sure you hold the ladder straight."

"Ivy," it replied grinning mischievously, something Misty failed to see from her position that she probably wished she had.

Misty reached up trying to hook up a string of hearts that her sisters insisted just had to be put in the most awkward place of all, then suddenly out of the blue the ladder jarred causing her to loose her balance.  

She struggled to stay on the ladder but it was futile.  She screamed and closed her eyes tight waiting for the impact of the fall, but it never came.

She opened her eyes cautiously as she felt some unknown source of warmth against her own body.  She saw Ash with a faint glow around him and smiled to herself.

"I must be in heaven," she muttered quietly.

"Pardon, Myst?" he asked moving slightly to reveal the source of the glow behind him.  It was one of the bright lamps her sisters had set up by the stage for the band tomorrow.

"I just said thank you," she lied her cheeks becoming a faint shade of red.

She felt her heart pounding in her chest.  He was so close she could feel his breath against her skin warm and comforting.  She could feel his heart, beating in time with her own.

Slowly their faces inched closer and closer.  She closed her eyes preparing to close in on that last inch of space that separated them from all they ever wanted.  They were so near to the moment she dreamed of for so long she knew it was nothing more than a matter of seconds.

Three . . .

Two . . . 

One . . .

**BAMM!!!!!!!!!!!**

A vine shot out between the two, pushing them apart and denying them those few seconds they had been longing for so long.

They followed the vine with their eyes to it's owner, Chikorita, busy glaring at Ivysaur and Pikachu who stood cowering behind the ladder.

Ash chuckled nervously and placed his hand behind his head as he returned Chikorita to her pokeball.

He wasn't sure which he was more embarrassed about, the fact that he had just practically been attacked by his own Pokemon or the fact that he had just almost kissed Misty, and the fact that he had wanted to kiss her more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.

"Are you ok?" he asked Misty.

She rubbed her arm where Chikorita had nipped it, but other wise she was ok so she just nodded in response.

She was still in shock from what had almost happened and wasn't even sure if she could talk.  She decided she was far better just not to take that chance.

"This place looks great," Lilly said as she, Daisy and Violet all walked into the room.  It seemed that just when the decoration had begun, they had all found something more important to do.

"Well if were done now, I'm going to bed," Misty said not wanting to stay around and have her sisters ask her about the sudden awkwardness between herself and Ash.

"Yeah, me too," Ash said.

"Spoiled sports," violet replied pouting at them.  "We we're just going to do some more like singing."

"Goodnight," Ash and Misty said quickly as they both ran up the stairs to their respective rooms.

Ash had always been a sound sleeper, but tonight was different.  He tossed and turned in his sleep the tiniest noises awaking him from his tortured slumber, but at midnight he was suddenly awaken bathed in some kind of ghostly glow.

"Ashton Satoshi Ketchum," an unseen figure bellowed.

Ash gasped and all he could do was reply to it with a meek, "yes."

~ to be continued ~

As you can tell if you ever read Valentines Verse this story is basically the same.  The main change will probably just be a more developed writing style and the later chapters.  I'm especially going to change the ending seeing as that was one thing that got a lot of complaints in the original because they had been together like five minutes and he just proposed for no particular reason.

So please review, five would be good, ten would be great and anything over fifteen would be bloody brilliant.

And thank you to iCy CaNdY, DigiDestined of Courage, crazysexycoolbabe, LiZzIe (even though I forced her too), Azian, Sailor Epyon, 9065, tmp and NiChoMiMeSaJe who all reviewed the original of this story even though it was considerably lame.


	2. The Things You Never Forget

"Nobody finds their soul mate when their ten years old . . . I mean, where's the fun in that right?" – Jake Perry _Sweet Home Alabama_

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon.

Valentines Verse: Lost Lyrics

Part II – The Things You Never Forget 

Something moved out of the shadows to where Ash could see it.

It was a man, in old fashioned, priestly attire and an aged face.

"I am Saint Valentine," the old ghost told him.  "And I am here to warn you."

"About what?" Ash asked, now over the shock of the entire ordeal.  

"You are to the point where you have to make a decision that factors in the rest of your life, one that could change the entire future of man kind forever," Saint Valentine told him.

Ash sighed, knowing he had enough things to deal with in his life without worrying about his decisions in life affecting the entire future of the world, as we know it.  

_'Being the chosen one sucks,'_ he thought to himself.

"Tonight you shall be visited by three presences," Saint Valentine continued, "each bestowing to you parts of your life that may help you to make this decision.  They are of the past, the present and the future.  Be warned Ashton, because fate is now in your hands."

With that he disappeared, rendering Ash in a state of shock.  Ash tried to shrug it off as a twisted dream and lay back in his bed, but as I said earlier, sleep did not come easy for Ash that night.

A loud chime awaked Ash just as he was drifting to sleep.

He sat up in his bed and looked around.  _'Strange,'_ he thought to him self, _'I don't remember Misty having a grandfather clock.'_

Again he tried to shrug it off and get back to sleep, but it was futile.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, he noticed a figure trying to blend with the shadows but doing a useless job.

It was a man with dark hair and lightly tanned skin much like his own and startling blue eyes the colour of ice.  He was wearing cargo shorts and a loose t-shirt as though he was setting out for a tramp or some kind of expedition.

"Dad?" Ash asked now struggling to hold back the tears that threatened to fall down his face.

Here was a man he hadn't seen since he was five years old, that he had lost at such a young age.  That he had never had a proper chance to know.

The man nodded, his face strong and kind.

Ash gulped back the lump in his throat and reminded himself to breathe.

Ash blinked disbelievingly.

_'It can't be,'_ Ash thought to himself.  _'He's dead, he's been dead almost twelve years, it just can't be.'_

But it had to be true; he didn't think he could stand it otherwise.  There, so close he could almost reach out and touch him was his father Michael Satoshi Ketchum, as he had always remembered him, strong, kind, brave and always looking for adventure just like his son.

But it was the adventure that had killed him.

Michael was an archaeologist, specialising in Aztecs and other Native American tribes.  He had been inside one of the Aztec pyramids in Central America when it had collapsed on him and his Richuu.

He had thought he was over it, that he was over all the mourning and the crying and the sadness.  He thought he was up to the point where he thought of something from his childhood and instead of crying he could laugh and be happy.  He thought the mourning period was over, but seeing the ghost of his father just brought it all back, reminded him of what he had lost and what he had missed out on.

He was reminded of a movie Misty had forced him to watch with her.  

_'There are no mourning periods,'_ he thought to himself.

"You've grown up since I last saw you," Michael offered placing his hand behind his head, as Ash often did when he was nervous or in an awkward situation. He was trying to fill in the awkward silence that had fallen so quickly between them.

But what do you expect.  A boy and his twelve year deceased father isn't really the best conversational situation.   I mean, what are you really supposed to say to that.

Ash couldn't even bring himself to look his father in the eye.  It just hurt too much to even attempt to look at him.

Ash's lip quivered slightly as he had to try harder than ever to stop the tears from falling.  He was finally seeing his father after all this time.  He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to him, at least not properly.  There were so many things he wanted to say, to ask but he just wasn't sure where to begin.

"For so long I just wished that I could see you one last time," Ash said quietly.  "To say goodbye and to ask if I had lived up to your expectations. To know that I hadn't failed you."

"I more proud of you than you could ever know," his father replied.  "My proudest moments were seeing your determination and the way that you never gave up no matter what.  You excelled my expectations Ash, and I'll always be proud of you."

Ash nodded to him self as a single tear fell down his face, its reasons unknown.

Michael smiled at his son.  "But that's not why I'm here," he continued.  "I'm here to show you your past and hope it will somehow help you make your decision.  Ash, do you know why you hate Valentines Day so much?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious," Ash replied.  "It was the day of your funeral."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you," Michael smiled cryptically.

In seconds he room faded away and they were no longer in Cerulean.  

They were in the past, and they were back in Pallet where Ash could see a six-year-old version of himself all alone on a bench eating his lunch.

Other children played happily around the immense playground, enjoying this break from school, but Ash sat alone looking at the pictures in a Pokemon breeding magazine his dad had always read to him before his death.

Present Ash looked at himself.

He didn't remember that day; in all honesty he remembered very little of his life before Misty came along but every second he spent with her was locked away in to his memory never to be let go.  He knew it was probably thanks to all those blows from her mallet, but he didn't mind.

A little girl with hair almost as red as Misty's came up to his past self and sat next to him on the bench smiling at him.

"Why are you so sad?" she asked cheerfully moving her face so she could look up into his.  "Come play with me.  Valentines is supposed to be a happy day."  

Six-year-old Ash looked away from her burying his head further into his magazine.  In her efforts to comfort him, she had only made him sadder by reminding him that it was Valentines, the day he had dreaded for as long as he could remember.  He didn't want to cry in front of a perfect stranger.

He wasn't going to cry no matter what.  He'd promised his mom that he'd be strong, for her and for his dad.  He'd promised himself that he wasn't going to cry anymore, that all his tears were gone but the truth was they had only just begun.

"I'm a good listener," she said quietly hoping she could make him feel better.  "Tell me what's wrong."

"My dad died," he told her.  "They put him into the ground this day last year."

The young girl put her hand on top of his in order to show she understood.  She remembered the sort of things she had seen her sisters do when they were trying to comfort someone.

"My mom died when I was really little," she told him, "so I know how you feel.  I'm staying here with my Aunt Sofia while my dad is back home teaching my sisters to be good gym leaders," she said proudly.

"Your dads a Pokemon gym leader?" Ash asked almost excitedly.

The little girl nodded proudly.  "He's the best there is," she bragged.  "And one day I might even get to take his place.  I'm going to be the best Water Pokemon Trainer ever, you know."

"Cool!" Ash exclaimed, her excitement and kindness contagious.  She seemed to have unconsciously wiped away all his tears with her words.  "When I grow up," he told her, "I'm going to be the World's Greatest Pokemon Mater ever."

The two children continued to talk excitedly as if they had known each other all their lives.  It was almost as if Ash's tears had never been there.

"She seems so familiar," present Ash sighed to no one in particular.

"Of course," Michael said leaving it at that.

The scene began to dissolve and was replaced by a similar one.  Everything he could see was a year older than it had been before, the playground, the seats, and the kids.  It was all so different yet exactly the same.

Ash looked through a window where he could see a seven-year-old version of himself and one of the little girl from before.  They were smiling happily at each other and glad just to be in each other's presence.

It was Valentines Day again, that was easy to see.  The room was decorated with little hearts everywhere and the children were making and swapping little cards.

He and the girl sat together, slightly away from the rest of the class.

He gave her a teddy bear with her name on it, but present day Ash was too far away to see what it said on it.  The little girl hugged it to her chest lovingly then hugged Ash and kissed him on the cheek.  Past Ash blushed bright red while present Ash chuckled at the scene.

Ash just couldn't get over how familiar she looked though he couldn't quite match her to the person.  Her name seemed to be right on the tip of his tongue, yet out of reach all the same.

"This was the last Valentines Day you ever enjoyed," Michael sighed as he moved to the window beside Ash.

"Why?  What happened?" Ash asked turning to his father.

"The next year, she suddenly had to go back home when her father fell ill," Michael explained.  "She left on Valentines Day without a word.  You didn't even get to say goodbye and you've hated it ever since.

"Until Misty came along," Michael continued.  Ash blushed at her name as he often did.  "You had lost all trust in people and all faith in things like love.  If it weren't for her you wouldn't be the person you are today."

Ash nodded, but then he always knew the impact Misty had made on his life.  He often wondered about how different it would have been without Misty, but he didn't really want to find out.

"I have one last thing to show you," Michael said as the scene began to fade as it had so many times before.

As it all came back into focus, Ash recognised it immediately.  It was something he wouldn't be able to forget even if he tried.

"Why are we on Arshia Island?" Ash asked.

"Because this is something that you need to see," Michael said.

Ash could see Melody and Misty standing atop the temple.

Misty looked out towards the sea where he could also see himself riding Lugia to where they waited for him to bring the last treasure.

Ash cringed; he already knew what was going to happen next.  The weird collector was going to try and capture Lugia and they were both going to go down, almost drowning.

"Ash," Misty cried out quietly as she ran forward to get a better look as it unfolded just as it had four years ago.

"I'll go save him," Melody said handing Misty her musical instrument.

"No," Misty said handing it back, "you have a role to play, you have the ocarina.  I'll go save Ash."

Melody nodded knowing Misty was right.  "Be careful," she said.  "He can't do this alone."

Misty smiled.  "Ash is never alone, because he has me," she told Melody softly and seriously before reverting to a more joking tone.  "I may not be his girlfriend, but he's an important part of my life and I couldn't imagine it without him."

With that Misty ran down to shore where she went to save Ash.

"Wait," present Ash said.  "I always thought that Tracey saved me."

"Guess you thought wrong," Michael replied.

Ash watched as Misty tried to pump air back into his lungs.

"Please be ok Ash," she pleaded as she did so.

"That's all I can contribute," Michael said as the past Ash began trekking up the steps, Misty doing everything she could to make sure he was ok without letting him know.

He had never really noticed it before, Misty was always at his side never letting him fall and helping him back up when he did.  Misty had always been there for him, she never left him from the day they met no matter what he did to try and push her away in the beginning.

With that it all disappeared including Michael and Ash found himself alone in the Waterflower guestroom with nothing but the sound of a ticking clock to keep him company.

~ to be continued ~

As you can see there are only a few changes so far, the next few will probably be the ones with the biggest changes in them.  

So please tell me what you think of it and anything you might want to see from the other two ghosts, maybe even people you'd like to be the ghosts.  All will be considered as I'm trying to make as many changes as possible so it won't be nearly as crappy.


	3. And In My Dreams I'll Think Of You

"If the only way we can be together is in our dreams, than I shall sleep forever" – Anonymous

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon, and now that I remember I don't own any of the quotes across the top, as far as I know.

Valentines Verse: Lost Lyrics

Part III – And In My Dreams I'll Think of You 

DONG!! DONG!!

The clock struck twice, again waking a rather confused Ash.

He opened his eyes cautiously wondering what he would see this time.  A long lost relative, an invisible friend from his childhood or maybe a deceased pet.

Instead he was met by a pair of aquamarine eyes much the same as Misty's.  He knew he had never met the woman they belonged to before, but somehow she seemed so very familiar.

Her aquamarine eyes reminded him so much of the Cerulean blue eyes that over the years he had grown to love so much.  She had blonde hair with just a hint of red in it only a few shades darker than Daisies.  She had high cheekbones like Lilly and a long neck like Violet.  She had the same dimple in her left cheek as Misty and shared the same nose as all four girls.

"It is good to finally meet you," she smiled studying Ash carefully.  She took him in from every angle studying him and trying to find out exactly who he was from one glance.  "Misty talks about you all the time," she added, smiling again.

Ash studied her too, trying to discover exactly what she meant in her words.  "Who are you?" he asked hoping he didn't sound rude, just confused.

"I am here to show you the present," she said with a confidence that could easily match Misty's.  "I am Elizabeth Waterflower," she said kindly.

"You can't be," Ash replied.  "Both Misty's parents are dead.  You died when she was two."  He eyed her suspiciously wondering why someone would even joke about something like that.  The woman looked so serious, and truthful, but she couldn't be, could she?

"You don't question your dead father coming to visit you and show you the past, but you doubt Misty's dead mother to show you the present," she sighed shaking her head.  "Someone sure has their priorities straight," she said her voice dripping with sarcasm the way Misty's often did.

He could see where Misty got it from, all of it.  The same sort of beauty that laid both externally and within, the sense of humour, the sarcasm and most definitely the temper.  Misty was almost the image of her mother, both physically and mentally.

Misty had once told him that her mother was a model and a dancer.  It was obvious with the way that Elizabeth moved with such grace and poise, something that despite the clumsiness in her younger days Misty had perfected over the years.

"No," Ash said desperately beginning to grasp at straws, "it's just that, well, how can she, I mean . . . um . . . talk to you about me . . ." Ash blushed at this comment but hid it well in the low light " . . . all the time when your not here, I mean you're here now, but not usually . . . um you know . . . kind of physically."

"She always did tell me about how articulate you were," Elizabeth said holding back an urge to roll her eyes.

_'Again with the sarcasm,'_ Ash thought to himself.  _'I swear, if she had rolled her eyes just then I would have be certain I was looking at an older version of Misty.'_

"Every year, at Valentines Misty writes me a letter and takes it to my grave," Elizabeth explained.  "She's done it since she was four years old, only then she had her father or her sisters write them for her.  She used to write about Pokemon, and things she saw and battles and her sisters, but slowly those things seemed to just disappear into the background until all that was left was you.  You are the most important and cherished thing in her life right now, do you really want to change all that?"

"I . . . I d-don't know," he stuttered honestly.

"You will by the morning," she replied.  "Come," she said quickly changing the subject by taking his hand and dragging him out of his bed.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"We're going to see Misty," she said dragging him through the wall that separated their rooms.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Elizabeth commented turning to see Ash's reaction.

Ash nodded dumbly, so taken aback by her beauty that he didn't trust his voice to work properly.  He had to remind himself to breathe.

He had watched Misty sleep before.  He liked to see her so peaceful, and gentle and the moonlight or stars lighting up her face, it always left him breathless.

But suddenly that peacefulness was broken as Misty began to toss and turn in her sleep.  Tears ran down her perfect face and her hair clung to her damp cheeks.  She tossed off her sheets immediately feeling the winter chill and began to shiver.

Ash watched her, his heart filled with pain as he watched her in such a state.

He never could stand to see Misty cry, even if it was a rarity.  Misty basically never cried, she saw it as a sign of weakness and would probably die if she knew he'd seen the occasional tear roll down her cheek.

Seeing Misty in pain, always made him feel sick to his stomach.  It was almost as if he could feel her pain, as if they were joined by some unconscious link.  He knew he wouldn't be able to stand it for much longer.

He bent down and pulled the sheets over her slender body, pushing the damp hair away from her face.  He caressed her cheek as he wiped away the tears that streaked her face.

"Shhhhh, don't cry Myst," he whispered quietly as he stroked her hair.

Elizabeth smiled at the scene.  She almost felt as though she could take Ash back to his room then and there, he was so deep in thought and so concerned for the girl that it seemed as though he had already made his decision.  But things are never as they seem, so she had to make sure he knew exactly what he meant to Misty.

"Don't let me go," she called out in her sleep to what at the time, seemed like nobody in particular.

"It's ok Misty," he said quietly.  "I'm here."  

This seemed to calm her, even if she hadn't heard his words.  Her breathing had calmed and the tears had stopped.

Ash stepped back and sighed contently.  He often spent his nights just listening to Misty breathing; it was comforting almost, to know she wasn't a dream because he didn't think he could stand it if she was.

He was reminded of a song, it was one of his favourites, probably because it reminded him so much of Misty. [A/N: I'm listening to this song right now, it's '_Breathing' _by _Lifehouse_]

_'Cause I am hanging on every word you say,'_ Ash thought recalling the words to the song.  _'And even if you don't want to speak tonight, that's all right, all right with me.  Cause I want nothing more than to sit outside heavens door and listen to you breathing, it's where I want to be.'_

"Do you want to see what she's dreaming of?" Elizabeth said interrupting him from his thoughts.  She knew the answer was yes, she could after all read his mind, not that she was going to tell him, that would just ruin the joy of it all.

"Yes," he started to say but stopped when he realised exactly what she was asking.  "I mean, isn't that kind of private?  I know Misty would kill me if she knew this," he added as an automatic response.

"And whose going to tell her?" Elizabeth asked her eyebrows raised cockily and questioningly at the same time.  "I certainly can't and if you did there's no chance in heaven or hell she's going to believe you."

_'Misty is definitely her daughter,'_ Ash thought to himself.  The likeness was uncanny.

_'Damn straight,'_ Elizabeth thought to herself agreeing with Ash's statement.

"Come," she said holding out her hand towards him.

Ash took it cautiously.  The moment he did, the room disappeared in seconds only to be replaced by what looked like a battle scene.

He found himself above a large glass platform surrounded only by clouds. He was on a platform so high up that you couldn't even see the world below.  It was just the sort of thing Misty would find romantic.

He saw himself standing on one side of the platform which had your basic Pokemon battle grid drawn into it, and on the side lines as she always was cheering him on, was Misty.

Ash smiled as he watched her.  She was so beautiful, so caring and just so amazing, could he honestly leave her?  Even if it was the only option he had, if he had no choice in the matter, he didn't think he could.

"This is a battle for the title of Worlds Greatest Pokemon Master," the announcer . . . announced, "between Ashton Satoshi Ketchum and Gareth Samuel Oak.  Both trainers are already considered to be the best in their generation and have already received their Pokemon Master Titles."

Ash watched it all in awe.  He wasn't sure what to think of it, but something about it all made him fill with pride.

"It's because she believes in you," Elizabeth said her message as cryptic as those of his father.

Ash stared at her blankly as he tried to decipher her meaning.

"Don't worry Ash," she told him.  "You're not supposed to understand."

"The rules," they announcer continued stopping Ash from asking any more questions.  "Trainers must not step out of their box while a round is being held.  All Pokemon . . ."  

The announcer went through several other rules but by that time Ash had already stopped listening to him, he was far too engrossed by Misty.

" . . . If any of these rules are broken, the trainer must forfeit and the other is declared the winner," the announcer finished.  "Let the match begin."

"G-A-R-Y.  He don't need no alibi, he's Gary, yeah! Yeah he's Gary," Gary's usual flock of paid 'supporters' cheered from the sidelines all in matching outfits with a golden 'G' embossed across their chests.

Misty rolled her eyes at them.  "Oh my gosh, that is like so like totally amazing," she gushed air-headedly her sarcasm only covered by the air-headedness in her voice.  "I like totally didn't realise you could spell.  How long have you been 'Hooked on phonics' anyway?"

They turned away from her making an 'hmmph' sound as they did.__

Ash smiled.  That was definitely his Misty, no doubt about it and quite frankly; given the choice he wouldn't have her any other way.

This was one of the many things he loved about her.  She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, no matter what.  She was clever and witty and those cheerleaders probably didn't even realise she was putting them down.

Elizabeth stifled a giggle as she listened in (more like eavesdropped) on his thoughts.  _'His Misty,'_ she thought to herself happily.  _'Remind me why I'm here again.'_

Dream Ash and Gary each called out their first Pokemon.  It was Pikachu versus Embryon.  Many would have quickly picked Embryon as the winner of this match, but then most didn't realise the power that Ash's Pikachu held within him.

Ash struggled to pay attention to the match.  He often had trouble paying attention when he was around Misty.  

She had grown out of her usual attire of denim shorts and a yellow tank top.  She wore a pair of fitting jeans and a short sleeved black top with a band logo written across it in silver writing.

"Well . . ." one of Gary's cheerleaders said about five minutes later turning back to Misty " . . . you're dumb."

Misty rolled her eyes again.  "Some people," she muttered quietly to herself.  "Did you ever hear of the five second rule?" Misty asked her cocking her head to the side and smiling smugly.  "You do realise that it isn't called a comeback because you turn away and then come back?"

"How do you know?" the cheerleader asked snidely as if that was some kind of ingenious retort to Misty's witty remark.

"Oh I get it now," Misty smiled.  "It took you five minutes because that's how long it takes you to count to five.  Good thing it's not a fifteen second rule, you would have ran out of fingers."

Ash took a quick glance at his dream self, away from the scene with Misty, just to see how he was doing in the match.  He was wining easily, it seemed that Gary was onto his last Pokemon, a ghost type, and dream Ash was still fighting strong with Pikachu.

"You bitch," the cheerleader said as she tried to slap Misty across the face.  Misty easily dodged this.

"Wow, that's the biggest word I've heard you use yet without having to spell it out," Misty said in a patronising tone as if she was talking to a small child not a girl a few inches taller than her and just as many years older than her.  "Did you come up with that one all on your own or did you get some help from the rest of your bimbo brigade?"

I guess by then, the cheerleader had just had enough, so she shoved Misty, really hard.  She pushed Misty backwards, pushed her off the edge, and pushed her off the platform high above the world.

Misty screamed as she fell down but reached out in time to grab the tiny ledge and hold on with all her might.

"Misty!" both Ash's called out at the same time.

He couldn't believe this was happening, neither of them could especially the one who knew it was all a dream.

Elizabeth grabbed onto real world Ash gently holding him back from running to save her.  "You can't save her, it's against the rules," Elizabeth told him.  "A dream must follow the course the dreamer subconsciously chooses for it to take."

Ash sat back down despite how much he wanted to go down there and be the one to save her.  He wanted to be the one she ran into the arms of, the one that she held onto with joy and sobbed into his shoulder just happy to be alive.  He wanted to be the one she never let go.

"If she wants you to save her, you will," she added pointing towards the dream Ash who was about to step out of his box, "no matter what."

"You sure you want to do that Ashy-boy," Gary asked menacingly bringing the real Ash's attention back to the dream.

"Why do you care?" dream Ash asked as he glared at Gary.  The boy was only holding him up and stopping him from saving Misty who could fall any minute.

"Cause I want to win this match because I'm the better trainer, not because the better trainer forfeited," Gary said his voice taking on a serious tone that had never been present there before.  "You have a decision to make Ashy-boy.  The girl, or the dream you've wanted since before you could remember."

_'The girl,'_ Ash thought to himself not even doubting the decision for a second.

Dream Ash stood still for less than a second pondering this.  He took a large step out of the box and said, "Then screw the dream, I forfeit."

He then ran to the edge of the platform where Misty was still hanging, clinging for dear life.  He reached out his arm and grabbed her hand in his, pulling her up with the sort of superhuman strength that was only possible in dreams.

"Don't let me go," she pleaded her eyes filling with tears.

"It's ok Misty," the dream Ash said just as the real one had not long before as she had called out the same thing in their reality.  "I'm here.  I'll always be here."

He helped her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her tightly as if to prove to her that he was here and that he wasn't going to let her go any time soon.

"I love you Ash," she whispered into his chest as tears of joy fell down her face.

The real Ash gasped.  He just couldn't believe it.  It couldn't be true, could it?  He had spent so many nights trying to convince him self that she couldn't love him, that she wouldn't love him, the possibility of her loving him back had never even crossed his mind.

He suddenly felt extremely jealous of the dream Ash that she was clinging to so dearly wishing that it could be him, even though he knew deep down that in a way it was.  He just wanted to be the one she pronounced her love to.

"I love you too Misty," he replied.

Suddenly everything began to fade into darkness.  The clouds and battling platforms began to disappear and they were suddenly back in Misty's room.

Ash smiled as he watched her sleeping soundly glad that it had just been a dream.  He wasn't sure what he would have done if he had almost lost her for real.  He didn't even want to think about it.

"Goodnight my sweet," Elizabeth said kissing her daughters forehead softly.  "I want to show you one last thing," she told him the scene changing the moment the words left her mouth.

It was a scene of Brock and his girlfriend Garnet sharing a romantic, candlelit dinner on the roof of the Pewter gym.

"Why are you showing me this?" Ash asked quite confused and wondering what it had to do with his decision.

"I just wanted to show you, that this could be you and Misty if you only let her know how you feel," Elizabeth told him.

Ash stared at the couple for a few seconds putting him self and Misty in their places, but the scene he saw was so much different from theirs.  He could still see the candles and the food and he could see himself and Misty sitting opposite each other with a red rose lying beside her plate, but it was set somewhere else, if only he knew where.

"That is all," Elizabeth said softly as Ash was returned to his room and she was returned to where she belonged.

~ to be continued ~

Another one done thankfully and up in under a month, I swear that's got to be some kind of record for me or something.

Thanks Joy-girl for the idea of having one of Misty's parents and to everyone who suggested because it's given me a few idea's for the next ghost.

As you all know, according to St. Valentine the next ghost should be the ghost of 'Valentines yet to come' or in non-Charles-Dickens terms the ghost of the future so if there are any future events you would particularly like my ghost to include in her little part of this suggest them and I might just use them.


	4. If I Let You Go, I Will Never Know

"The worst way to miss someone is to be standing right next to them knowing you can't have them." - Unknown

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon.  I do however own the two songs that I wrote but I think that's basically it.

Just so you all know ~^_^~ is used to change the scenes in the next couple of chapters or the perspective or whatever it is.  So with that said, let's begin.

Valentines Verse : Lost Lyrics Part IV – If I Let You Go, I Will Never Know 

Ash was awake this time long before the clock began to strike three times.  Actually, he never even got to sleep.  He was too busy thinking about Misty to even think about sleeping let alone actually sleep.

He realised now that though he had already been visited by two presences, three if you included Saint Valentine.  He still had no idea what the decision he had to make was.  All he knew was that it had something to do with Misty, and that scared him more than anything had in his entire life.

It was as he was trying to lull himself back to sleep that he noticed the little girl watching him expectantly from the end of his bed.

She was small and fragile, almost scrawny, but he had learnt his lesson a long time ago about calling girls that no matter how old.  She looked about six or seven no older than eight.

She smiled at him from across the bed.  She had one of those smiles that seemed to light up her entire face, just like Misty's.  Her blue green eyes sparkled with mischief as she jumped onto the bed somehow not disturbing Pikachu.

"Are you awake Ash?" she asked happily as she got up and straightened her pale blue kimono covered in pink cheery blossoms.

"If I wasn't before I am now," he sighed.

It was the girl from the past his dad had shown him, that was for sure.  That much he could tell, but still he tried to figure out who she was, why she seemed so familiar to him now even though he seemed to have forgotten that part of his childhood.

"Does this mean your dead?" Ash asked sadly as he watched her crawl off his bed after lightly petting Pikachu.

She shook her head.  "Didn't they tell you who I am?" she asked cocking her head to the side and screwing up her nose slightly.

His mind immediately strayed to Misty doing the same thing as she tried to get her own way.  He held back a content sigh as the image danced before his eyes.

"I'm not dead," she continued taking him away from his reverie.  "Maybe you'd recognise me better in an older form."

The room suddenly began to glow white and Ash had to shield his eyes.  As the light dulled back down Ash was left with the image of perfection he had grown to love more than anything else in this world.

Her long waist length red hair had been left out and had been curled into soft ringlets at the ends.  She wore a pale pink kimono also but this one with a darker shade of pink roses and gold leaves embroidered into it.  The dress was formfitting, accenting her perfect curves that seemed to hypnotise him into doing her bidding. 

Her cerulean blue eyes looked at him shyly as she awaited his approval.

And then she smiled nervously, setting his heart into a frenzy of emotions as it often did. 

_'Breathe,'_ he reminded himself.  _'Just breathe.'_

"Misty," he whispered quietly, almost breathlessly as he was locked into a trance by her eyes.  

He suddenly found himself under a spell she was unaware of casting over him.  He couldn't look away from her stunning beauty, even if he wanted to.  He was entrance by the shards of emerald in her eyes and the way they blended into the blue green as he searched for the perfect word to describe their colour.

"Your first love is often your last," she shrugged still looking down, her cheeks a light shade of red.  "We just don't always realise it."

"How are you here if you're not dead?" he asked saying the first thing that came to his mind.

He often got this way when he was around Misty.  He suddenly stopped thinking before he spoke because there just wasn't enough room in his mind for that and her.  He ended up saying stupid things and doing even stupider things to catch her attention.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" she asked with mock defensiveness pouting at him playfully.

Again he felt his heart skip a beat and he was just thankful that he was already lying down because he was positive that if he had been standing or even sitting, that one perfect, playful pout would have sent him into a state of comatose.

"No, I mean . . . I'm happy . . . I mean . . . it's just that . . ." Ash began to stutter his words coming out in a confused phrases of nonsense that made him more nervous and embarrassed then he was to begin with.  

"Never the most articulate boy," Misty muttered to herself as she shook her head at Ash while a small smile played on her lips.

She rolled her eyes and then proceeded to answer his question.  "It's astral projection," she explained simply.  "My physical form is still in bed appearing to be sleeping.  In the morning this will be nothing more than a distant dream that I'm struggling to remember."

Ash just nodded not wanting to embarrass himself further by speaking.

He hated what Misty did to him sometimes.  All she had to do was look at him and he began struggling to string as simple as sentence as "You know that's not what I meant" together.  Sometimes he would fall over his own feet just trying to get her attention and in return all he would receive was that sweet little laugh that would almost have been beautiful if it wasn't constantly aimed at him.

"So . . ." Misty began as they suddenly found themselves in an awkward silence.  "Where do you want to begin? The good future or the bad future?"

Ash pause for a second as he thought about the two options.

"The bad future," he replied.

"Good idea, because we'll be needing the good future to cheer us up," she said wincing as if she was ripping off a band aid.

With that Misty waved her hand theatrically and the scene began to dissolve into a field he recognised as one just outside of Cerulean.

"And so it begins," she whispered as she directed his gaze to where they saw themselves sitting together in the middle of the empty field.

~^_^~

Ash bit his lip nervously.  This was the hardest thing he would ever have to do in his life, the hardest decision he was ever forced to make and the biggest regret he would ever have.

"Myst," he said taking her hand in his, "I think I need to make my own path for a little while."

Misty too bit down hard on her lip forcing back the tears that threatened to fall from her already red eyes.  She could taste blood in her mouth from biting her lips so hard, or maybe that was just the taste of her heart breaking in two.

But she promised herself that she wouldn't cry, that no matter what she wouldn't let Ash see her cry right now.  She knew that deep down that this was something he had to do and she didn't want to make it harder on him by showing weakness and vulnerability.

She gulped back the lump in her throat before she spoke her words strained with emotion.  "That sounds like a good idea Ash," she told him lying through her teeth.

Ash didn't need to see tears, he knew before she'd even spoken.  After knowing her so long he could see past her deception of strength she put up around her and he could see the pain in her eyes.

_'Please,'_ he thought to himself.  _'Please let this be the right decision.'_

"This isn't good bye Myst," he pleaded hopelessly wishing he hadn't seen that single tear roll down her cheek filling him with regret, but it was already too late to go back.  "Just so long."

"Goodbye Ash," she told him as she forced a smile onto her lips and kissed his cheek softly.  

"You'll always be my best friend," she told him as she stood up.  "So long Ash," she added as she ran away from him before he saw the mass of tears flooding her eyes.

That one, single tear that fell down her face had turned into two and two into four until she didn't think she would ever stop crying and though the tears would dry eventually, she knew part of her would always be crying for him.

"Goodbye Misty," he whispered after her, his own tears lost in the rain that began to poor down around them.  "Goodbye."

~^_^~

Ash's heart was shattered into lots of tiny little shards.  He had broken Misty's that much was clear in her eyes, and that was the worst feeling that anyone could ever imagine.  It made him feel physically sick and emotionally distraught, how could he have done that to Misty?

"Is that all?" Ash asked hopefully as he turned to Misty.

She shook her head her face grim as she already knew what this future held and it pained her so much to have to be the one to show it to Ash.  She knew it would hurt him just as much as it had hurt her to know, but she tried to convince herself that it was for the sake of their future, whether it be together or not.

Ash sighed and closed his eyes in thought.  She had warned him in her own way that this was going to be hard on him, he just hoped that was the worst of it.

And when he opened them again, he was no longer in the empty field watching himself cry for the girl he had just let run out of his life, instead he found himself in a crowded stadium chanting her name.

~^_^~

Ash had the best seat in the house, front row and centre with a perfect view of the stage.  The crowd around him was filled with excited anticipation though his was more nervous.

He just wasn't sure what to make of it all.  They hadn't seen each other for five years, he didn't know what to expect, what she'd be like, if she'd still like him.  He wondered if just the sight of her would rekindle the old feelings he had been forced to let die.

The crowd began to roar loudly as she began to walk onto the stage, something that they had both become used to after so long in the public eye.  She scanned the audience quickly and smiled as she caught sight of him right where she'd hoped he would be.

"Misty! Misty!" the crowd chanted.

She adjusted her headset and turned to one of her assistance back stage to make sure that it was working.  They nodded and Misty smiled in satisfaction before addressing the crowd.

"Hello West Kanto," she called to them, which was answered by an approving roar from the audience.  "This first song is one of my favourites and it's dedicated to my best friend who's sitting here in the audience.  When I first started writing this song, and not necessarily from the first verse it started out as a song about him, but I guess somewhere along the way the intention got messed up and this is the result.

"So this is dedicated to you Ash," she told him smiling down on him from her stage.  She signalled for the band to play and began to sing to its soft minor melody filled with the tears she still longed to cry.

_"I use to think_

_That you were all I need_

_That you were everything I needed to succeed_

_I thought I knew_

_All there was to know_

_But you never know just what you're letting go_

_It feels like something's missing_

_Something I can't get from you_

_Forget the lies_

_Forget the pain_

_Know we'll never be the same_

_Forget the tears_

_That we cried_

_And just know that we both tried_

_Forget the fairy tale_

_We both forgot the words_

_And just remember_

_The heart that never hurts_

_I need to let you go_

_We need to face the facts_

_I need to take a brand new trail_

_Not retrace the same old tracks_

_We've sang the same old lines_

_Took the same old paths_

_We need to leave it all behind_

_And leave it in the past_

_I need a new beginning_

_It's something I can't bear to do_

_Forget the lies_

_Forget the pain_

_Know we'll never be the same_

_Forget the tears_

_That we cried_

_And just know that we both tried_

_Forget the fairy tale_

_We both forgot the words_

_And just remember_

_The heart that never hurts_

_Forget the tears that we both cried_

_Forget the times that we both lied_

_Forget the things you never thought we'd ever lose_

_Forget the times I'd lie awake_

_Just waiting for my heart to break_

_Forget the times our dreams would all fall through_

_Forget the love that we once knew_

_Forget the dreams that were still true_

_And know that love is nothing without pain_

_So . . ._

_Forget the lies_

_Forget the pain_

_Know we'll never be the same_

_Forget the tears_

_That we cried_

_And just know that we both tried_

_Forget the fairy tale_

_We both forgot the words_

_And just remember_

_The heart that never hurts_

_Just remember_

_The Heart That Never Hurts"_

_('The Heart That Never Hurts' © Virgo Writer)_

The crowd, especially Ash cheered loudly as Misty finished her song leaving them for a few seconds in a stunned silence.  She was an amazing performer filled with a hypnotising charisma that never let Ash take his eyes off her.

Though he had never really been able to take his eyes off her before anyway.

He'd always known that Misty had a great singing voice, he'd even recalled times when he'd heard her singing late at night, he'd just never really known that she was this good.  

Ash went back stage after the concert to meet her feeling totally on edge.  He was more nervous than the teenage girls around him that had been given the chance to meet their idol.

_'Is five years too long?'_ Ash asked himself as he tried to ease his nerves.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Pokemon Master," she teased as she walked up to him wearing a simple silk skirt with a white singlet top and her hair tied up in a messy pony tail.

"You know you can't call me that anymore," he told her as he felt that much of his previous nervousness disappear as soon as he saw her.

Despite the fame she just seemed like the same old Misty and he was just as in love with her as he was all those years ago, but he couldn't do anything about it, because he'd already made his decision and ruined their chances along with it.

"Yeah I forgot," she said a playful hint in her voice.  "It's Mr. Worlds Greatest Pokemon Master now, and hottest too according to most of the female population of Kanto."

"Well I can't say it's a matter of taste," he began, "because they all seem to think that you're the greatest too."

It was silent for a moment as they both just stood there, their thoughts straying elsewhere.

Misty broke the silence as she suddenly wrapped her arms around Ash's neck and hugged him.  "I'm so glad you came," she told him, happy tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

"Me too," he told her wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close to him.  "I missed you so much," he added tears welling in his own eyes.

"Excuse me, Miss. Waterflower," an assistant called interrupting Ash and Misty's long awaited reunion.

"Yes Harrison," she said pulling away from Ash's strong arms with a sigh of regret.  In the five years apart she had forgotten how safe and protected she felt to be in Ash's arms.  She missed that feeling and she didn't want to let it go again.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Miss. Waterflower," he said anxiously, "but you're supposed to talk to the prize winners right now."

Misty sighed again.  "I'm sorry Ash, I really wanted to be spending some catch up time with you before I had to head to the next stop on the tour," she told him apologetically, "but I guess things never go the way you planned."

"Don't worry Myst," he told her, "we'll get the chance to catch up.  That's a promise."

She smiled at him her eyes retaining more of their usual glow that she had lost a bit over the years.  "Don't let it be five more years Ash," she told him.  "And that's an order."

"Yes sir," he told her saluting jokingly.

"That's ma'am to you private," she teased.  "Say hi to Pikachu for me Ash," she said quickly before going to do her duty and meeting the fans that had done everything possible just to see her.

"Yes ma'am," he said quietly a tone of sadness coming to his voice as he watched her retreating figure walking away from him yet again.

~^_^~

"That song was so sad," Ash whispered afraid that if he spoke too loud she would hear the tears that were threatening to fall.  He had to rely on all his strength just to hold them back.

"It was written from the part of me that's always crying for you," she replied her own eyes filling with tears as she thought about the things that brought her to write the song.

"Which part?" Ash asked softly not fully understanding her words.

"My heart," she told him.

He nodded understandingly, it explained the ache he felt in his own heart as he listened to the lyrics, the sad melody and the emotion found in her harmonic voice.

"Why did you write it?" he asked.

"It's as I said, I wrote it for you," she told him.  "Because of you," she added with a slight chuckle.  

"It meant so much," she continued after a pause as she realised Ash wanted her to explain further.  "It was like I was using that song to try and move on with my life, it didn't work.  I almost felt like it gave me something more to hold onto.  It explained to me what you felt, parts of it were from my angle, others from yours but mostly it was from a third person trying to tell me to move on with my life and forget you.  It was like they were scorning at me, at what I had become because of you.

"Forget the lies, forget the pain, know you'll never be the same," she sang showing what she meant by changing the lyrics slightly to fit that tormenting voice that had always told her to give up on Ash.  "Forget the tears that you cried, forget you even tried.  Just forget the fairy tale, you both forgot the words.  Try to remember, the heart that never hurts."

Again they both felt tears stinging at the backs of their eyes.  It was as if the song now had a deeper meaning, like it was never meant to be.

"Did we let it be five years?" Ash asked.

Misty shook her head.  "That's one thing you've always been good for Ash," she told him.  "Keeping your promises.  We kept in touch better after that despite both our intense schueduals.  We saw each other for short periods of time now and then, never more than an hour or two, I made sure that it was never enough for you to get a close enough look to see the plastic smile on my face."

Ash looked at her with concern in her eyes.  He didn't like it when Misty was hurting, because that meant he was hurting too.  He was curious to learn more.

"I wasn't happy," she told him.  "Not even close.

"I had all anyone could ever want," she continued sadly looking at the ground.  "All the latest and greatest of everything.  Fancy cars, platinum credit cards, precious jewels, exquisite gowns and huge mansions; I had it all.  I had fame and fortune, something everyone dreams of their whole lives but few succeed to grasp, but it wasn't enough to make me happy.

"I had all I could ever ask for and it was just like, so what?" she said as a tear streamed from her eye, "I had everything I could ever dream for, everything but what I truly wanted.  I didn't have you and my life felt so empty with out you.  No matter how happy I was to be with you again when we met up I was always reminded that I would have to say goodbye once again at the end of it all.

"It was five years to the day that we had a proper meeting . . ." she trailed off as again the scene began to change and Ash tried to prepare himself the pain that he knew he would feel.

~^_^~

" . . . no matter what I do I can't . . ."

Ding! Dong!

"Will you please get that Larkspur?" Misty called from her study where she did most of her song writing.

(A/N: I know Larkspur is a weird name but it's a really pretty flower and seeing as Kris wouldn't let me call myself that cause it really is a weird name I have to name someone after it)

"Yes Miss."

Ash followed Larkspur as she led him through Misty's huge house and into the study where Misty was working.  He took the few letters from Larkspur before sending her away so he and Misty could catch up.

Misty had her back towards him when he came in and she was still busy working on her song to notice.  She would hum small tunes now and then as she tried to work out exactly what she wanted to hear.

Larkspur watched at the door for a second thinking about how happy her mistress would be to see him again.  She had noticed that Misty was always noticeably happier when Ash was around, or even the days leading up to a visit.  When Ash was near she had a light in her eyes that she had previously lacked.

"Boo," Ash whispered as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her from behind in a friendly manner.

Misty yelped and noticeably jumped by this action, which confused Ash immensely.

"Myst, what's wrong it's just me?" he said his confusion eminent in his voice.

"I know Ash," she said massaging her temples and shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts.  "You just startled me," she told him tiredly hoping it would be enough.

"You don't fool me Misty," he told her.  "Remember, I know you better than I know myself.  You wouldn't get like that over nothing Myst so tell me what's wrong.  I'm your best friend, you can't hide anything from me?"

Misty let out a small laugh at Ash's efforts to cheer her up and get information out of her at the same time.

"It's nothing," she told him.

She reached for one of the letters that Ash had brought in with him thinking this seemingly normal gesture would convince him of just how alright she was.  She only read a few lines before throwing it into the nearby fireplace and walking across to the other side of the room to watch it burn from the sidelines.

"Absolutely nothing," she muttered more to herself than Ash as she rubbed her arms trying to make the goosebumps disappear.

Ash sighed as he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.  He hated to see Misty like this especially as she wouldn't let him do anything to help.  He just wanted to make all her fears and tears disappear forever so she would never have to be unhappy again.

"Misty, you don't throw letters into the fire over nothing," he told her seriously.  "What ever it is you can tell me, and I'll help you get through this no matter what."

"It's nothing," she repeated, "just a silly threat."

"Just a silly threat?" he asked knowingly.  "You're the bravest person I know, you're too strong to be pushed this close to tears over a silly threat and I'm sure this has something to do with the fact that you practically screamed when I snuck up on you before."

"I don't want to burden you with my troubles Ash," she told him.  "I don't . . ."

"You're never a burden," he interrupted.

She sighed again.  "You really want to know?"  She paused waiting for Ash to nod his head and encourage her onwards.  "It's a death threat.

"I've been receiving them for about a year," she continued refusing to look him in the eye.  "At first it was just jealous girls, mostly because of all the rumours there were about us being together."  They both blushed at this comment.  "But then there was this one that always stood out, that seemed to be attacking me just for the sake of it.  They'd say things that no one but you would know, things that they knew would hurt me.  They'd describe what they would do to me if they ever got the chance in such gruesome detail that I could almost imagine it happening to me as I read.  They threatened to hurt my sisters, and you and anyone I ever cared for."

She could no longer hold back the tears, which she had been holding back and hiding from everyone for so long and began to cry into Ash's shoulder.

"it's ok Misty," he told her softly as he wrapped her in his arms and gently consoled her.  "I'm here, you're safe now."

She nodded into his chest as slowly the tears began to fade away until they were gone all together.

"Thank you," she whispered.  "It's good to see you again Ash."

"You too Myst," he replied as he rested his head gently on top of hers.  "So what was so important that you wanted me here ASAP?" he asked as he leaned back to look at her face.

"Actually I was wondering if I could ask you to do me a favour," she said shyly.

"Anything for you Myst," he told her forgetting to ask what the favour was, not the smartest idea I might add.

"Can I hold you to that promise?" she asked mischievously.

"You name it Misty," he said confidently as if there was nothing Misty could throw at him that he couldn't throw back at her triple fold.

"Can you do a duet with me?" she asked.

"What?!" he gasped his eyed widening with surprise.

"You did say anything," she told him.

"Yeah, but I thought you wanted me to stay here for a while so you felt safe," he argued.

"Get over yourself Ketchum," she teased rolling her eyes as she was back to the same old Misty that he loved so much.

"I can't sing," he told her desperately

"Yes you can," she told him.  "I've heard you in the shower and I bet you didn't realise that you sing the 'To Be A Master' theme song in your sleep."

Ash blushed with embarrassment and looked away.  "Fine, I'll do it," he mumbled quietly in defeat.

"Sorry Ash," she said cocking her head to the side in mock confusion, "I didn't quite hear you."

"Fine I'll do it," he said a little clearer but not clear enough for Misty's liking.

"Pardon," she said a smirk pulling at her lips.

"I said I'll do it," he said louder as he sighed defeatedly.

"I knew you would," she told him smiling triumphantly as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and began to get back to her song showing Ash what she was doing.

~^_^~

"You're a new person," Ash commented as he watched the possible future of himself and Misty.  "One second you're close to tears and next it's like you're on top of the world."

"Because I was Ash," she told him.  "I had you back in my life again and I was on top of the world.  I was happy again, I didn't need drug induced happiness and alcohol induced numbness anymore like I had before, I had you and that was enough now.

"You made me forget all the bad things there were in life, just like you always had," she continued.  "You were still so innocent to the world despite your age and you helped me find the innocence that I had lost again.

"We worked on the song for months, a lot longer than I would usually work on a song but I wanted this one to be perfect, and I didn't want you to leave again.  I didn't think I could say goodbye again so I did all I could to make you stay longer.

"I was so happy," she said again beginning to sob softly.  

Ash wrapped a comforting arm around Misty feeling her pain.

"I didn't mean to Ash," she continued as if she was trying to explain her own actions for what happened next and asking for forgiveness.  "I was just so happy, I let my guard down.  I forgot about all the evils of the world and all the pain it caused and I let my guard down.  I had a headache and I needed some asprin so I just took a drive down to the local 711.

"It wasn't even that bad of a headache," she said sobbing harder.  "I could have waited till morning, I knew that and I knew I should have when someone grabbed me from behind.  I didn't think it would hurt anyone if I just went out to get some asprin, but it did.  It hurt everyone that ever mattered to me, especially you Ash."

He wrapped his arms around her tighter as tears sprung to his own eyes and let her sob into his chest.

"It was the day before we were going to release the song," she said softly.  "That was the day they found my body and brought you in to identify it."

Ash gasped and more tears came to his eyes falling down his cheeks.  "What happened to you?" he asked softly not really sure if he wanted to know.

"The guy, he seemed to think he was Jack the Ripper or something," she told him.  "He butchered me.  He dragged me down a dark alley and chopped off parts of my body signing a name with a knife into my abdomen.  To him, I was just one of many victims, many triumphs and many more he would make.  It took them two years after that to catch him and put him in jail where he belonged."

"How could some one do that?" he asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders as she changed the scene to the funeral.  She hadn't showed Ash the actual death, she didn't want to hurt him further than he already was.

~^_^~

"Um . . . this is like a song our baby sister, Misty Kasumi Waterflower wrote before she died so like tragically.  It's called like 'Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust'," Daisy said before she was led off the stage sobbing by her other two sister who were also crying softly.

A soft melody began to play filling the small cathedral.  The ceremony was only for her close friends, family and important members of her management team.  It wasn't just an opportunity for the stars to compare who looked better in black, it was a day for those who mattered in her life to grieve the loss of a friend, a loved one and a sister.

Ash's voice followed the melody keeping to its slow and somber rythmn that would fill the rest of his days now he was without her.

Ash: _"So many words that I could say_

_But none would bring you here_

_No goodnight prayer_

_No wishing star_

_I know because I've tried"_

Misty's voice followed softly and melodic like the voice of the angel bringing tears to his eyes as he realised he may never hear it again.

Misty:_ "A thousand tears won't bring you back_

_I know because I've cried_

_My fallen tears_

_My lonely heart_

_This emptiness inside"_

It was strange how fitting the song was for today.  When Misty wrote it she had said it was about two friends that had lost one another along the way.  Now it seemed that it was about two friends, himself and Misty, and now one of them was gone, lost forever.

Their voices came together in perfect harmony to sing the chorus that could quite possibly the most fitting part of all.  He missed her badly and just wished he could have her back.

Ash & Misty: _"When we said friends forever_

_Did forever mean today?_

_Tell me what's the point of feeling_

_When there's nothing we can say_

_I can't explain my reasons_

_I cannot say just why_

_But no matter what I do_

_I can't bare to say goodbye"_

Misty: _"When I think of us as children_

_The day we saved each other's lives_

_It was all for one_

_And one for all_

_Just you and I combined"_

Ash: _"I didn't hear you last words_

_But I know you saw me cry_

_(& Misty) no matter what_

_no matter where_

_You're always by my side"_

Ash & Misty: _"When we said friends forever_

_Did forever mean today?_

_Tell me what's the point of feeling_

_When there's nothing we can say_

_I can't explain my reasons_

_I cannot say just why_

_But no matter what I do_

_I can't bare to say goodbye_

_"When we said friends forever_

_Did forever mean today?_

_Tell me what's the point of feeling_

_When there's nothing we can say_

_I can't explain my reasons_

_I cannot say just why_

_But no matter what I do_

_I can't bare to say goodbye"_

Ash(spoken): _No amount of words will bring you back_

_I know because I've tried_

_A thousand tears won't bring you back_

_I know because I've cried_

_I didn't see you close your eyes_

_I didn't see you die_

_But the thing that hurts the most_

_Is that you didn't say goodbye_

Ash & Misty: _"When we said friends forever_

_Did forever mean today?_

_Tell me what's the point of feeling_

_When there's nothing we can say_

_I can't explain my reasons_

_I cannot say just why_

_But no matter what I do_

_I can't bare to say goodbye"_

This was where the song was supposed to end, but it seemed that without him knowing Misty had added something to the end that just brought this song closer to Ash and made it more meaningful then it was before.

Misty:_ "Do you think of me where you are?_

_Am I still your shining star?_

_Cause the thing that makes me cry_

_Is that you never said goodbye_

_{Goodbye, goodbye}_

_You never said goodbye"_

_('Ashes to Ashes {Dust to Dust}© Virgo Writer)_

Ash swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat as he tried to do everything in his power to keep from crying.

He was reminded of something someone once told him about how sometimes it's not holding on that makes you strong, but letting go.  

He had let her go, he had did everything he could to stay strong to let her be free and live her life without him and now she was gone forever.

He got the feeling that Misty was never really meant for this world, that she wasn't meant to live in such a cruel and heartless place, that angels like her were only meant for heaven.  He knew she'd be watching over him from above, it was the one hope he had left to hold on to, the one thing that stopped him from giving up on life altogether.

Misty had been the world to him, even if she didn't know it.  She had changed his life in so many ways, she had made him who he was today and he would be lost without her.

From the moment he met her everything he had done was for her.  He valued her opinion more than anyone else's and everything he strived for was to make her proud of him.  

Now he had lost his reason and he just didn't know where he was going anymore, he didn't know if he could continue battling without her even though she hadn't been by his side for ten years.  All he knew was that he had to continue, for her, because it was only thing left to fill the void that she had left behind.

Ash sighed as he walked up to the alter and looked down at the closed casket.

Part of him was glad that her sisters had decided against the open casket idea, he'd already suffered enough pain being called in to identify her mauled body after it had been found in a deserted ally, he didn't think he could handle that again.  The problem was that the rest of him wanted to see her face one last time, to kiss her goodbye.

"I'm sorry Misty," he said softly looking down at the intricately engraved coffin as tears streamed freely from his tired eyes.  He hadn't slept since her death and he wasn't sure he'd be able to again.  

"This is all my fault," he continued in a hushed whisper filled with emotion.  "If I had never been there you would have known better than to go out on your own.  I know I couldn't have stopped you, even if I tried, you've always been so stubborn, but I just wish you were still here.  I wish I'd told you when I was given the chance, but now you're gone and you'll never know how much I love you."

Ash took a deep wavering breath as he tried to push back his tears.  This wasn't the first time he'd cried for Misty and it wouldn't be the last even if no one saw the tears he cried later on.

"How are you like holding up?" Violet asked gently as she and her sisters came up behind him.

"That's what I was going to ask you," he replied forcing a small smile onto his face as he turned around to face them.  It was futile, his eyes portrayed all the pain and sadness he felt inside as his entire world was pulled away from him.

"You don't have to pretend for us Ash," Lilly said in a moment of insightfulness.  "We understand because we feel it too."  

Tears welled in her eyes as she wiped them away trying to be strong for Misty even though she wasn't here to see them.  They'd always tried to be strong for her, especially after their parents deaths but it had always turned out that Misty was the one with all the strength.  Now she was gone and they weren't sure if they could be strong without her.

"We're as good as we could be considering," Daisy finished answering Ash's question.  "I'm still waiting for the tears to stop falling behind my eyes, but I don't think I could possibly imagine the pain you feel Ash.  She was our sister and we loved her in our own special way but to you she was everything."

Ash nodded solemnly as the tears began to form in his eyes.  "Life's funny like that," he said though he was far from laughing.  "It never let's you see what you've got until it takes it away."

"Ash we want you to have this," Lilly said suddenly as she pulled out a leather bound book.

He could easily guess what it was.  He even recognized it from the occasional time he'd caught her up late writing in it.  He'd often taken it for ransom in his younger years, but never once had he even dared to look through its neatly written pages.

He stared at it incredulously wondering why on earth they would want him to have something that held every thought that Misty had ever had.

"If it was her choice she'd want you to have it," Violet insisted noticing his hesitation.

"I can't take it," he said looking at it.  "It wouldn't be right."

"There are a few things in this book that you need to know Ash, that you need to find out for yourself," Daisy told him.  "She would have wanted this."

Ash sighed defeatedly as he flipped through the book.  More tears filled his eyes as he read through the book remembering all the time they had together good and bad.  

Then he came to one particular page and he no longer had the strength to hold back the tears anymore.

~^_^~

"What does it say?" Ash asked Misty worriedly as he watched himself breakdown in tears.

"Read it your self," she replied softly as the book suddenly appeared in his arms automatically flipping to the same page his future self had been reading.

_Febuary 14 2003 _

_Dear Diary,_

_Today my heart broke._

_I think I felt it smashed into millions of tiny pieces in a matter of seconds and he'll never know._

_Whenever I thought about broken hearts and so on I always thought it was just a metaphorical thing, I never realised that the day my heart would be broken in two that I would physically feel it._

_Ash means so much to me and I can't believe that I just let him go so easily without out a word, without even trying to call him back._

_But you know what they say, if you really love something you have to let them go and all that really matters anymore is their happiness even if it isn't with you._

_I thought he was happy with me, but it seemed that he needed to be free.  I suddenly feel as though all this time I've been holding him back, keeping him from what he was destined to achieve in his lifetime._

_Being the 'Worlds Greatest Pokemon Master' had been his one dream since he was still in school, since before his father died and there was no way that I would even try to hold him back from that._

_So I let him leave.  I just let my best friend walk out of my life because I couldn't stand the thought of being the one to hold him back.  I thought with time that maybe his dreams would change, that maybe one day I could be his dream._

_I know that was my dream, but then dreams never do come true, do they?_

_Ash has always been there for me.  He saved me, saved me from a life of lonliness and hurt even though I would never admit it to him._

_He was that one friend who was always there for me.  The one who always made the sun shine brighter and the dark clouds fade away.  The friend so perfect he often seemed a dream that I prayed I would never awake from._

_He was the one who was there when I felt my world cave in around me, when nothing could go right and everything was wrong.  But then he would just come wrap his arms around me, bring me to my feet and give me strength to fly._

_But after that is where it all starts to go so terribly wrong, beyond the healing powers of his soft loving arms._

_He's my best friend in the entire universe and I know no matter what he'll always be my best friend.  No more, no less._

_I spent a lot of my life searching for something that was in front of me all along, searching for Ash even though he was right there by my side.  I was looking for that once in a lifetime kind of love that you read about in fairy tales and by the time I finally opened my eyes I was already in too deep to back out._

_It's strange the things that stick with you in life and the way you remember them sometimes as if they were a dream, others as if they were only a few hours ago._

_I remember when my world used to disappear just to be inside his arms but today it crumbled away into nothingness because today I realised that he is my world and now he's gone._

_He was always in front of me, protecting me leading the way.  He's always been behind me, pushing me forward and supporting me in everything I ever did.  And he was always right beside me; he was a hand to hold and a friend I could always rely on._

_He was a shoulder to cry on, and the reason I cried.  It's one of the hardest possible times in life when the only person who ever made you cry is the only person who can take the tears away._

_I've always valued him too much as a friend to do anything about how I feel, I was always too afraid that our friendship would be destroyed if I did, but now it's too late anyway._

_It was so painful that way, but I would rather just be with him even if it was just as a friend than to be without him.  It hurt me so much to be so close that I could hear my own heart beating in time with his and not be able to say a word._

_'Goodbye Ash,' I said kissing his cheek softly.  'You'll always be my best friend.'_

_How I longed to say more, wished I could confess my true feelings inside my heart.  I spend so much of my life wishing that I could tell him and wishing that I could hear him say the same that I start to wish I could stop._

_Writing it down on paper, like I do now makes it all seem so easy.  I love him, with my entire heart and soul constantly falling deeper and deeper in love just from one look in his chocolate brown eyes.  But it's more than that, so much more that I can't even find words to explain it._

_All I know is that I love him and that I always will love him._

_But that alone will never be enough, not when he doesn't love me._

_Signed as always_

_Misty Kasumi Waterflower_

"I lost hope of you ever loving me after you left," she told him as he finished reading the entry.  "I gave up on you loving me, but I never stopped loving you."

"I don't deserve you," Ash muttered more to himself than to her.

To know that Misty could get hurt, or even worse die because of something he easily had power over, a decision he made was something he didn't want to have to think about.  But he couldn't help it.  It just kept on repeating itself reminding him that it was his fault she had died.

"It's not your fault Ash," Misty said as she tried to comfort him as she sensed his thoughts.  "Fate makes it's own choices, we can't control it.  It's not a definite future, just a guess at would could happen."

"That's the choice I have to make, isn't it?" Ash asked not really hearing Misty's words as his mind was elsewhere.  "You or the title.  The girl of my dreams or my childhood dream."

Misty shook her head gently.  "It's just a choice."

With that she knew it was time to show Ash the other half of the future, the future she longed for him to choose.

~ to be continued ~

I thought heaps about the things that could go here and took a few of your idea's like the death one though I knew Misty's death would probably effect him more than his own and I was close to doing the chiche Rudy thing then I realised just how much I disliked Rudy I didn't feel like putting him in, plus Misty is so damn in love with Ash what are the possibilities of her being able to move on with her life?  Exactly, just about as likely as Ash going off to live happily ever after with Melody after Misty's death.

So anyway, please review, tell me what you think and remember to tell me what you might want to see in the next chapter.  I've split the futures into two separate chapters as they're both about 8000 words long which together is longer than the whole of the original story put together.


	5. What My Life Could Be, Holding You Close...

"Love isn't what makes the world go round, it's what makes the trip worth while." – Franklin P. Jones

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon. And yes, there's another son in this chapter which yes I do own.

Now remember ~^_^~ smiley face thing changes the POV or whatever and it doesn't seem quite so ironic this time around.

A/N: I notice many of you weren't too impressed with the last chapter understandably. The reasons it was so corny is because it is mostly the same as my original version of this and I was a very corny writer to begin with, you should all be glad I took out some of the really corny stuff like the necklace part (shudder) and the sudden proposal for no apparent reason.

I also totally agree with '…'. I really wanted to rewrite that bit but I couldn't think how. I mean why would he choose having everything he wanted, the title and the girl, over having just one. The thing is that Misty won't remember any of it and Ash would only feel a sense of de ja vu. By the time he has made his decision the presence of the ghosts would be the furthest thing from his mind. His choice will be the simple matter of following his heart and we all know where that will lead him, this stuff is just chucked in for dramatic effect.

Anyway, with all that said, this chapter is almost as corny, extremely fluff and has yet another song in it because I felt like putting it in there so now I'll shut up and let you all read it and decide for yourselves.

Additional Authors Note: I made a slight change in the middle mostly because it has always annoyed me that it wasn't much of a choice. The choice is really more of a choice that he makes for Misty - does he let her shine for a few incredible moments (which need not necessarily end in her demise) or does he hold onto her only to have her stuck in his shadow. I think I explain it quite well just before the wedding, but that's really the only change and it was merely for my own peace of mind.

Part V – What My Life Could Be, Holding You Close To Me

"That's the choice I have to make, isn't it?" Ash asked not really hearing Misty's words as his mind was elsewhere. "You or the title. The girl of my dreams or my childhood dream."

Misty shook her head gently. "It's just a choice."

With that she knew it was time to show Ash the other half of the future, the future she longed for him to choose.

~^_^~

Ash smiled as he gently led Misty to the very same field from his previous appiration only this time to encounter a very different and happier future.

"Where are we going?" Misty giggled curiously her voice full of fake suspicion.

Ash's hand was wrapped warmly around one of her hands while the other was over her eyes as per Ash's request. She had no idea where she was or where she was going for that matter but she trusted him enough to let him lead her blindly to god knows where. She trusted him with her life . . . and her heart.

She could tell something important was on his mind, they'd been friends too long for her not to notice. She just hoped that whatever it was, it was good news or as good as it could get.

"Open your eyes," Ash whispered huskily sending chills down her spine and warming her already reddening cheeks, she just hoped she could blame it on the cold if he noticed.

Misty opened her eyes slowly savouring the scene she surveyed(A/N: try saying that really fast five times along with toy boat) around her gasping happily as she did so.

It was absolutely perfect, just like something out of a fairytale or dream. The sun shone brightly in the east illuminating the light snow dusted across the ground. Tiny daisies and small groups of forget-me-not popped up through the thinning snow somehow surviving winters chill.

She felt like those flowers right now, barely surviving, tiny and insignificant wondering if anyone would ever see her. It was not easy to avoid thoughts like these on Valentines Day, especially when the only one you could ever love thought of you as nothing more than a friend, even if it was his best.

_'The worst way to miss someone,'_ Misty thought sadly to herself as she felt the tears building up in her eyes.

She quickly swallowed back her tears before turning around to see Ash watching her, looking at her; seeing her.

She blushed as she resisted an urge to turn away before he realised she had looked too and did everything she could in her power not to be entranced by his chocolate brown eyes.

"Why'd you bring me here Ash?" she asked suddenly staring at him intent on making sure he didn't weazle his way out of this one.

"You see, I needed to tell you something," he told her nervously as he turned away pacing and running his fingers through his messy (and quickly getting messier) ebony locks in an agitated fashion.

"I'm listening," she urged him on as she too began to feel quite nervous.

"Well, Misty I'm not sure how to say this, but you see, well . . ." he began as he continued pacing back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth ringing his hands apprehensively.

"Ash will you please stop pacing," Misty commanded cutting him off as it was really getting to her, "you're making me dizzy. Now just stand here look me in the eye and say whatever it is you need to say. You're my best friend Ash," she added longing to say more, "and nothing you say could ever change that."

Ash swallowed deeply as he did what he was told. He looked into her cerulean blue eyes. He knew he couldn't live without her and quite frankly he didn't want to try.

Love was true to it's clichés, maybe that was why people seemed so cynical about it. It really did make worlds crumble and disappear, it was worth being brave for, it was worth giving up your life for that one person so they would never have to feel pain. Love was one of those few things in life that were worth risking everything for and if you didn't you risked even more.

So putting it all on the line, his life, his heart, his soul, his dreams, possibly even their friendship he took a deep breath and prepared to take that risk.

"Misty, I think I'm in love with you," Ash stated quickly before his growing nerves got the best of him and he ended up telling her he needed the bathroom as he had so many times before.

"You think, or you know Ash?" she asked as calmly as she could muster through the tears of happiness that were beginning to well in her eyes.

He smiled at this. Misty was a hopeless romantic and for her a feeling or a thought just wasn't enough. He had to be certain so in turn she could be certain of her own feelings.

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her lightly so he could still look into her ever beautiful blue green eyes staring up into his chocolate brown with uncertainty. "I know I'm in love with you Misty Kasumi Waterflower," he said using her whole name for effect, "and I hope that maybe, just maybe, you love me too."

"Sometimes hope is more than enough," she said breathlessly as she reached out to touch his cheek almost as if to check he was real and not a dream. This statement was more to herself than Ash, but it held the same significance to the both of them. "I love you Ash," she whispered shyly loud enough so only he could hear.

His smile widened as he gently caressed her cheek. He pulled her closer to him tilting her face towards his own and weaving his fingers through her hair.

"I know," he whispered merely seconds before his lips met her in the first of many kisses to come.

There were so many more things that he longed to tell her that he couldn't even find words to express and this was a step closer to being able to convey all that to her.

~^_^~

The scene changed quickly from the winter landscape to a packed stadium in the Indigo Plateau set only a few months subsequent to the previous scene.

Ash stood in a box above the battlefield waiting anxiously along with at least a million others for the smoke to clear.

Misty stood on the side lines longing to run on to the field and be at Ash's side whether it be his victory or defeat though she hoped for the earlier of the two. She believed in him and as she stood on the sidelines with her fingers crossed for good luck she silently conveyed that to him.

Ash took a quick glance at Misty from the corner of his eye. Though she was meters away he could feel her presence right by his side where she belonged.

The smoke cleared slowly revealing a faint silhouette that could easily be either Pokemon, his strong Charizard who was speacially developed after years in the Charizardic Valley or his openants Ninetales which seemed uncharachtaristically strong and powerful with many unknown attacks behind it.

Finally all the smoke was cleared only to reveal Charizard standing proudly above the fainted body of the Ninetales.

For a few seconds the arena was filled with a stunned silence. The previous master who had been undefeated for almost twenty years was shocked to find that he had finally defeated by a boy who was barely a man.

The crowd cheered wildly.

Misty was the first to move, she ran from her position on the sidelines and straight into Ash's waiting arms.

"Ash Ketchum is now the youngest Pokemon Master ever!" the announcer . . . announced.

"You did it," Misty told him happily. "I always knew you would."

Ash smiled down at her as he stole a kiss from his unsuspecting girlfriend. "I couldn't have done it without you," he told her honestly as he leaned in for another kiss.

A growl was heard from Charizard interrupting this intimate moment.

"Or you Charizard," Ash added as he went to congragulate his Pokemon.

"I think somebodies feeling a bit left out," Misty teased the fire dragon as she planted kick kiss on the cheek. This caused him to blush lightly, which was barely noticeable on his already red skin. "You did great too Charizard," she told him.

"Pika Chu," Pikachu agreed as he joined the group.

"Should I be jealous?" Ash asked raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"Course not," she said planting a kiss on his cheek too.

"You call that a kiss?" he asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders as she held back a giggle.

He pulled her closer to him and dipped her low in a tango fashion. "This is a kiss," he breathed against her lips before bestowing an earth shattering kiss upon the girl of his dreams and reality.

Sadly it to was interrupted though this time not by Charizard but a group of reporters trying to get a few seconds with the new Pokemon Master.

"Mr. Ketchum," one reporter asked, "how does it feel to be the youngest Pokemon Master ever?"

"What are your opinions on the new league standards?" another asked.

"How do you feel about the colour purple?"

"Are you planning on changing the league name like the previous master?"

"Is it true that you are the hybrid love child of a human and a Pokemon?"

"Are the rumours true that you and Miss. Waterflower secretly married when you were sixteen?"

"Please save your questions for the press conference," Ash begged unsure of how he was supposed to answer all these questions when he didn't even know the answers to some of them.

He knew this was only the beginning, that it would only get worse and that they would push themselves into every aspect of his life. He knew that he would never have a moments peace as long as he was a master.

"I'm sorry," he said to Misty as they got into the locker room.

"For what?" she asked smiling at him.

"For forcing this on you," he said. "This world. I mean I choose this, I knew what I would be getting into but you didn't and just because you're with me it's forced onto you instantaneously."

"What makes you think I didn't know what I was getting in to? You mean too much to me for me to let you go just because of a few pesky reporters," she told him with a small smile and kiss.

"Strange, I'm beginning to get the feeling that you may actually like me or something," he said.

Misty swatted at him playfully. "Come on Mr. Pokemon Mater," she teased as she dragged him along. "We have a dinner to prepare for."

"That's Mr. Worlds Greatest Pokemon Master to you missy," he stated matter of factly as they were on their way.

~^_^~

The next scene came as they always did pulling a smile to Ash's lips.

It was one he recognised easily, one he could never forget even if he tried.

It was a small pond hidden in a secluded part of the Viridian forest that very few knew about or even cared to know about for that matter.

"Ash where are you taking me?" Misty asked as Ash led her through the forest carefully directing her delicate steps so she didn't trip on anything. "You know I hate surprises," she added pouting playfully under the silk blindfold Ash had wrapped around her head.

She was dressed in an elegant strapless midnight blue dress with intricate rose designs embroidered around the edge. Ash to was dressed up in a back tux with a blue sash around his waist that matched her gown.

"But this is a good surprise," he replied sweetly still leading her forward.

It seemed she had very little resistance despite her protests. She would let Ash lead her to the ends of the earth and never leave his side simply because it meant she could be with him.

"Close your eyes," he whispered next to her ear as he gently positioned her in front of the small waterfall that trickled down the delicate rock face.

She nodded to tell him she had done so. He gently undone the blindfold then moved to his own position anxiously awaiting her reaction.

"Ok," he told her. "Open your eyes."

She did and was immediately drawn to the beautiful waterfall and pond, which reflected the perfect sunset behind it making it even more amazing.

"It's beautiful," she sighed contently as she looked towards the sky. "Ash, you . . ." she trailed off as she looked to Ash only to see him kneeling before her holding a ring case open and smiling innocently.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

Ash cleared his throat. He chuckled to himself more out of nervousness than a funny thought.

"I had this big speech planned out that I was going to say tonight," he told her, "all about how much I love you, and why I love you and how perfect you are, but now that I see you I've forgotten all the words. There are only a few words that come to mind right now and I'll be damned if I don't say them now."

He took a shaky breath in an effort to calm his nerves before uttering this next sentence. "I love you Misty Kasumi Waterflower, will you marry me?"

"Yes," she told him barely even noticing the sapphire and diamond white gold ring in the box he held out to her. "Yes I will marry you."

"You don't know how happy you've made me right now," Ash smiled as they shared a loving kiss.

He slipped the ring onto her finger, which she gladly accepted. It was a perfect fit but he didn't expect anything less. The ring was simple and beautiful all at the same time with the most obvious conclusions delicately engraved into the inside of its band; Ash and Misty Forever.

~^_^~

"Ok Misty let's try running this through one more time and then we can all go home," the producer told her.

Misty nodded before smiling at her fiancé through the glass window and beginning her song.

It was written for him and she was glad that he was going to be one of the first people to hear it. As she sang she imagined that everyone else had disappeared and that the only ones left in the room where she and him.

_"I finally get the chance to speak_

_And I've forgotten all the words_

_I finally let my heart decide_

_And it's struggling to be heard_

_I finally kissed my fears goodbye_

_I know there's no more tears to cry_

_To only spend forever in your arms_

_Cause closed eyes never see the night_

_And bound hands never felt so right_

_And broken hearts don't mend all on their own_

_In your eyes forever never ends_

_And in your arms the night does not descend_

_In my eyes, see darkness turned to light_

_Oh there comes a time for many things_

_But love conquers all in the end_

_But beginnings never end_

_A smile sent to spark the flame_

_That's growing in my heart_

_A kiss that takes my breath away_

_And pulls my world apart_

_Tears that were once kissed away_

_An end that never came to stay_

_And proved forever lasts beyond the day_

_Cause flowers always bloom in spring_

_And birds will have loves song to sing_

_And some loves fates are written down in stone_

_In your eyes forever never ends_

_And in your arms the night does not descend_

_And in my eyes, see darkness turned to light_

_Oh there comes a time for many things_

_But love conquers all in the end_

_But beginnings never end_

_Oh . . . Oh . . . Oh_

_Cause rainbows must begin with rain_

_And nothing is a crying shame_

_And tears were always meant to be_

_Swept away_

_In your eyes forever never ends_

_And in your arms the night does not descend_

_And in my eyes, see darkness turned to light_

_Oh there comes a time for many things_

_But love conquers all in the end_

_But beginnings never end_

_Amor Omnia Vincit."_

"Misty that was great," the producer told her. "Best we've had all day. No guesses why."

Both Ash and Misty blushed, I guess they never really got used to it even though they had been subjected to comments of the similar sort since they were ten years old.

Misty stepped out of the recording booth and ran into her fiancés arms.

"Did I ever tell you how wonderfully amazing you are?" he asked her as he wrapped his arms around her slim waist.

"Not recently, I don't think," she said thoughtfully as she looked into his shinning brown eyes.

"Well then I guess now's as good a time as any," he smiled at her. "You are the most amazing creature to ever grace this earth and I'm the luckiest man in the world to have you in love with me."

He leaned forward and gently planted a kiss on her waiting lips.

"Ah, young love," the producer sighed wistfully. "Get a room."

"Oh your just jealous," she told him as her lips left Ash's for less than a few seconds to breathe.

"C'mon, we better go, we have wedding stuff to do," Ash told her with a sigh as he ended the passionate kiss. "It's the best part too."

"And what part would that be?" she asked him suspiciously.

"Picking the cake," he replied as he led her out the door.

~^_^~

"I thought things would have changed more than this," Ash stated as he and Misty watched their future selves beaming with happiness.

"Some things are set in stone," Misty replied. "Our decisions simply change how we use those things. Like my songs, last time they were all depressed about pain and heartache."

"What were they about this time?" Ash asked looking at her curiously.

"Love," she shrugged. "You."

"It's not much of career in a way," she explained, "I mean comparatively. I guess happiness doesn't sell the same way as heartache. And I get pulled to pieces by the critics for the tiniest step out of line because of who I am and who you are."

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at her sincerely. It was hard for Misty to shine with him hogging all the limelight. She was stuck in his shadow and even when she tried to step out of it there was somebody there to knock her back. He was Ash Ketchum: Pokemon Master, and because of that nobody was able to see how wonderful the girl beside him really was.

"Don't be," she replied. "Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. And if that's what it means to be with you then its ok."

And with that the scene began to change.

~^_^~

The cathedral was huge filled with all the people that they had met along their journey's as well as those tied to both their careers. There was light chatter between the many guests as they all patiently waited for the wedding of the century to begin, a wedding many had known would happen from the moment they first laid eyes upon Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower.

"Breathe, just breathe," Ash echoed to himself nervously as he stood at the end of the aisle waiting for her to come.

He was so afraid that she would see him and change her mind. This was something he had been dreaming of for most of the time he had known Misty no matter how hard he tried to deny it.

He knew he wouldn't be able to stand life if the words 'I do' failed to pass her perfect lips today and he hoped against hope that they would. He was looking forward to spending the rest of his life with Misty in his arms.

A song began to play and he watched as Misty's three sisters and her maid of honour, Melody walked up the aisle to where he and his two grooms men, Tracey and Parker (A/N: Parker is Melody's boyfriend and one of Ash's best friends from my college fic just to clarify that) and his best man, Brock.

_'What if she says no?'_ he thought worriedly as the first procession of people walked towards them. _'What if she **does** change her mind?'_

"She loves you man," Brock said some how sensing Ash's worried thoughts simply from the way he kept running his fingers through what had previously been tidy hair. "That's all that matters today," Brock added, "and anything else will never come close ever again."

Ash let out a sigh of relief Brock's words having a positive effect on his nerves.

Suddenly the music began to change from the softer music to the unforgettable melody of the wedding march.

Ash turned around to see his wife to be walking towards them. Their eyes locked across the crowds and nothing else seemed important just like Brock had predicted.

Two flower girls walked ahead of her and Professor. Oak who had proudly accepted the honour of giving her away sprinkling the ground with rose petals and other things.

Ash could hardly believe how lucky he was, that he of all people was to be marrying this goddess, that she was in love with him and that today they would be promising each other their hearts till death do they part.

"You look like an angel," he whispered breathlessly as he lifted the veil off her face so he could reveal the beauty he had easily come to love.

She blushed and smiled back lovingly. "you don't look so bad yourself," she whispered back.

"Dearly beloved," the minister began monotonously. "We are gathered here today to join Misty Kasumi Waterflower and Ashton Satoshi Ketchum in holy matrimony.

"Do you, Ashton take thee Misty to be your lawful wedded wife, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, to have and to hold till death do you part?"

"Beyond death," he told her with a smile. "I do Misty."

Misty's eyes began to well with tears of happiness as the minister moved on to her.

"Do you, Misty take thee Ashton to be your lawful wedded husband to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad till death do you part?"

"I do," she said softly. She was afraid that all the emotions inside her would cause her voice to fail and she wouldn't even be able to speak the two words that held so much significance that they were all that needed to be said.

"With this ring I be wed," they each whispered as they exchange the matching gold bands they had picked for one another.

"With the power vested in me by the land of Kanto, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Ash smiled as he gently caressed his now wife's cheek.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this day," he told her.

"Almost as long as I have," she replied.

Mist closed her eyes dreamily as they both slowly leaned forward and she felt his warm breath mingle with her own. Finally their lips met in the very first kiss of many as Mr and Mrs. Ashton Satoshi Ketchum.

"I love you," they whispered against each other's lips before sealing their love with yet another kiss.

~^_^~

There was a final anguished cry as Misty's grip on his hand began to lessen and her breath faded quietly away into the background.

A little boy cried his first tears as he was introduced to the world his parents had come to love.

"Is he ok? Why is he crying?" Misty asked anxiously. After their first attempt being a miscarriage Misty was more worried than usual about what would happen. The whole way through the pregnancy she had put her self on a very strict diet and did everything she could to make sure that this baby would be healthy and safe on arrival.

"He's perfect," Ash told her encouragingly. "Babies always cry when their born, it means they're breathing."

"Here you go Mr and Mrs Ketchum," the doctor smiled as he wrapped the child up in a baby blue blanket and handed him to Misty. "I'd like you to meet your baby boy."

Misty looked into the child chocolate brown eyes and gently stroked his cheek. "He's perfect," she stated repeating Ash's words little below a whisper, "just like his daddy."

Ash smiled as he rested his head next to his wife's and made funny faces at his son, which the child didn't seem to react to. Misty giggled as she caught a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye.

"So what shall we call him?" Ash asked still trying to make the child smile.

"Ash didn't you read anything in those baby books?" Misty asked. "Babies don't smile until a few months after their birth."

"But he looks like the special sort," Ash said proudly.

"That better be the good sort of special," she told him.

"Of course, he is my son after all," he replied ignoring a muttered comment of 'that's what I was worried about' from Misty when he continued. "So what shall we call him?"

Misty was thoughtful for a moment. "Michael," she told him. "Michael Satoshi Ketchum, just like his grandfather who I know is looking down on him right now just as proud as we are."

Ash smiled again, he had been doing that a lot lately it seemed and he found it impossible not to with Misty by his side. He gently reached down with his hand and gently stroked the child's face. Michael immediately grabbed his fathers little finger in his tiny fist and held on with all his might.

"I think it suits him," Ash told her as he used his free hand to push her hair away from her forehead so he could gently kiss it. "Thank you," he said.

"For what?" she asked cocking her head to the side innocently.

"For everything," he told her. "For making me the happiest man alive."

There was a knock on the door before Delilah Ketchum entered.

"So how is my grandchild?" she asked getting straight to the point.

"He's the image of his father," Misty said remembering the baby pictures Delilah had showed her.

"And as stubborn as his mother," Ash continued which was proven by the fifteen hours of labour she had just gone through. "And the same grip," he added remembering the pain he had endured through all fifteen hours and comparing it to the grip his few minute old son held on his finger.

Misty hit him playfully.

"So what's my grandson's name?" Delilah asked as she moved in to get a better view of the little boy.

"Michael," Misty answered as she cradled the now sleeping child closer to her chest. "Michael Ketchum."

~^_^~

"So what shall we call it?" Ash asked.

The two lounged on the picnic blanket, Ash leaning against the tree and Misty laying her head in his lap as she watched a hyperactive three year old play tag with Togetic and Pikachu. The two Pokemon had the advantage over the boy, Togetic with it's teleport and Pikachu with it's natural stealth and agility but both played to their own disadvantages.

"It sounds so impersonal talking about it as an it," Misty commented. "It's almost as if we're talking about an alien or a stray Meowth not our child."

Ash smiled at her as he stroked her slightly rounded belly. It was still too soon to discover the sex of the child but even if he wasn't willing to admit it to Misty, he was hoping for a girl.

"Ok, what shall we call 'Baby Ketchum'?" he asked her.

"Ketchums," she corrected. "The doctor said that there was a very distinct possibility of more than one, especially with the way it run's in my family."

"Ok then, what shall we call 'Baby Ketchums'?" he asked her.

"I have no idea," she replied teasingly.

"Well I suggest Ash Ketchum Junior," Ash said a teasing tone in his voice.

"Well if you get Ash Ketchum Junior, I want a mini-Misty," she replied.

"Deal," he told her. "But in all seriousness, if we have a girl seeing as Michael was named after my father why don't we name her after your mother."

"And what if there are another couple of mini Misty's?" she asked him.

"Then we'll keep to the Waterflower trend," he replied confidently. "One water, one flower."

"What's your favourite flower?" she asked him even though she already knew the answer.

"Cherry blossoms I guess," he shrugged.

"Then if we have two girls we'll call them Elizabeth and Sakura," she said. "If we have three we'll call them Elizabeth, Sakura and Erie."

"Erie sure is an interesting name," Ash told her a bit confused by the name choice and what its connection to water could be.

"It's after Lake Erie," she told him. "And I for one think it's a nice name. Remember I'm the one that has to go through the fifteen hours of labour so don't mess with me."

"Don't I know it," Ash sighed as he watched Michael playing.

Michael had Ash's brown eyes and his hair was a red brown colour similar to his eyes sort of like a mixture of both Ash and Misty's hair colour. He shared many of his parent's qualities particularly the stubbornness, which was both a Ketchum and Waterflower trait.

"So what if it's a boy?" Ash asked as he gently moved his fingers through her hair almost subconsciously.

"I refuse to have an Ash Junior," she told him. "I guess we could name them after someone we met on our journey," she suggested.

"So were supposed to pick just three names from all that?" he asked. "God help us."

"It's not that bad, it's not like they were all guys," she told him.

"You know I'm still rooting for little Ashton Junior," he told her.

"God help me."

~^_^~

Ash paced anxiously back and forth inside the waiting room.

"You can come see your wife now Mr. Ketchum," the nurse told him leading him toward her room.

The birth had been complicated so in order to make sure nothing went wrong Ash had been asked not to be in the room as it was safer that way. Ash had reluctantly obliged only because he knew that it would be for Misty and the babies good.

"Don't worry sir," the nurse said as she noticed Ash was wringing his hands apprehensively. "You have two perfectly healthy baby girls and your wife is fine, just a little tired after the whole ordeal."

Ash let out a sigh of relief. "You hear that Michael," Ash said to the toddler beside him. "You have two little sisters."

Michael smiled back at his father his own chocolate brown eyes matching his father's excitement.

"Wait Ash!" somebody called behind them. Ash turned round to see his three sister-in-laws, Violet, Lilly and Daisy rushing up behind him.

"What took you guys so long?" he asked as they continued down the hallway Michael gripping Ash's hand.

"Well we we're like just about to leave and this guy came like into the gym and he wanted to challenge us," Violet began.

"So we like told him that our baby sister was like having twins and that we had to get to like the hospital," Lilly continued.

"Yeah but he was like so stubborn, I mean maybe even more than you and Misty," Daisy finished. "So like basically we had to battle him and that took like forever."

"Did he win?" Michael asked already sharing his dad's love of both Pokemon and battling.

"Yeah," Violet told him bending down so she was eye to eye with her nephew. "They always win when mommy's like not there."

Ash smiled as he held the door open and led the others into the room where Misty was waiting ever so patiently.

"Hey," he said softly as he walked in and kissed her forehead lightly. He took one of the bundles from her arms and smiled down at the three most important girls in his life.

"Hey," she replied softly.

They were sleeping right now. It seemed they were just as exhausted as their poor mother after all the trouble it had taken to bring them into this world, but Misty wouldn't dare close her eyes in case she woke to find that they were all a dream.

Little Michael stood on one of the chairs by the bed so he could get a closer look at the new additions to his family.

"If I ever think about having another child please stop me," Misty begged him jokingly.

"But what about little Ashton Junior," Ash teased back as he pouted. Misty shook her head in mock frustration as she smiled up at her husband.

"They're all so beautiful," Violet, Lilly and Daisy all sighed in unison looking at their nieces and nephew.

"What are their names?" Lilly asked.

Ash turned to Misty even though he had a fair idea of who was who.

"This is Elizabeth," Misty smiled gesturing to the small bundle wrapped up in blue in her arms.

"Which would makes this Sakura," Ash said gesturing to his own little pink bundle of joy.

"Elizabeth and Sakura, they're perfect," Daisy gushed.

Ash nodded proudly as he played with the little bit of hair growing on his youngest daughters head. She was only five minutes and twenty three seconds younger but it would be enough for Elizabeth to take on older sister roles.

Sakura stirred in her fathers arms before opening her warm Cerulean blue eyes and staring up at him. They were the exact same colour as Misty's and just as bright and loving as their mothers.

He could easily see that the two girls would be like carbon copies of their mother with the exception of the black hair already forming on their un-balding heads.

From just one look, he knew he could no longer manage life without them. He wouldn't want it any other way, even with out little Ash Ketchum Junior.

~^_^~

The rest of the scenes passed by rather quickly. Most of them consisted of their three children growing up.

Michaels first day of school, the twins first word and so on until they married had children of their own and those children had children.

Finally it came to the last scene ending it all in the two of them dying together . . . happy . . . in each other's arms. (A/N: think the end of Bicentenial man, oh my gosh that was like so sad when he died just as they pronounced him the worlds oldest human)

"I love you," they each whispered with their last breath before letting nature take it's course.

Everything began to fade as it had so many times before in this past night alone leaving Ash back in his room.

"And they lived, and died, happily ever after," Misty said softly as tears welled in her eyes filled with every emotion known to man.

"What do I do now?" Ash asked saying the first thing that came to his mind.

"You need to make your decision," she replied monotonously not wanting her feelings to be given away in her voice.

"What do you think I should choose?" he asked.

He didn't want to have to make this decision, he wanted someone else to make it for him as it had been with most of his decisions in life. He didn't want to be blamed for a wrong decision, he needed someone else to take it away from him, to share the burden.

"Please don't tempt me Ash," she begged of him. "you don't know how much I want to tell you what path to pick, to pick me. This is your decision alone and I can't change that or force my wish upon you."

"Can't you help me?" he pleaded with her.

"Go for a walk Ash," she told him after a moments thought struggling more and more to keep to her nonchalant tone. "Just go for a walk. Don't stop for directions. Don't bother keeping to a path. Don't worry about time. Don't even worry about what lies beyond the next twist in the road.

"Let your heart lead you. Just keep walking until there is nothing left in you, until you feel as though you couldn't walk another step. That's when you stop and that's when you'll know your answer.

"You're heart will guide you to where it longs to be, but that destination is uncertain," she continued. "Does it lead you to my heart? Or does it lead you to a new path, which you must tread alone? Your heart shall be your guide and mine shall always be waiting, hoping you find your way back to me, praying my wish has come true.

"No matter what your decision Ash," she said her voice becoming quieter as she continued, "remember that I will always love you."

She gently kissed his forehead before she too faded away like the rest of them, which hurt a lot more than it had previously.

Ash did as he was told.

For five cold hours he walked non-stop the nights events slowly drifting out of his mind as he came closer and closer to his destination.

Suddenly he stopped feeling fatigue kick in. He looked around and surveyed his surrounding them recognising them immediately and where they were pointing him.

The path was clear and with a new found strength he ran all the way back to Cerulean.

~ to be continued ~

I can just imagine how cute little Michael would be trying to protect his little sisters from all the evils of the world. Anyway I hoped you liked the chapter.

Tell me what you think, suggest any idea's for the next few chapters so I can draw this out a little longer.

By the way, thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really didn't think I would get such an amazing response, but thank you all the same.


	6. The Answer is Written in Your Heart

"After all, I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her" – Anna Scott _Notting Hill_

Disclaimer – Let's see, I don't own the characters, I don't own the plot and no matter how much I want to I don't own Westlife.  Yeah, you'll understand that last one soon.

Valentines Verse : Lost Lyrics

Part VI – The Answer Is Written In Your Heart 

Misty cautiously opened her cerulean blue eyes only to be met by the bright Cerulean sunshine that poured senselessly through her window.  

She closed her eyes again and curled into her warm comforter and tried to find her way back to a dream she barely remembered.

It had to have been the strangest dream she had ever had, that much was for sure.  It was kind of like Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' minus Tiny Tim and the famous "God bless us, every one" line you come to expect of it.

"I'm never having left over pizza before I go to bed again," she muttered to herself as she finally resolved to get up.

It was futile to try and get back to her dream world or even to try and create a new one, her mind was already too awake despite the many fantasy situations she could cook up in her mind most, if not all of them involving a certain dark haired, dark eyed Pokemon trainer in the room next door.

_'But there's nothing like the real thing,'_ Misty thought almost mischievously as she crept out of her room and quietly towards Ash's.

She smiled to herself at the thought of seeing the sleeping Ash she was planning to wake, he looked so innocent when he was fast asleep it made her heart just want to burst with devotion.  And then she thought about how dazed and cute he looked when he had just woken up, which immediately made her legs turn to jelly, which just happened to be a normal response for her.  And then she thought about the way his face would light up when he saw her and a blush began to form on her pale cheeks.

She carefully pushed the door open being careful not to wake anyone, especially not Pikachu who was rather cranky when woken up from it's slumber.

Her eyes widened with shock as she saw the empty bed.  She began to panic as she searched the room for her best friend who was nowhere to be found.  Ash was known for playing pranks now and then, but she didn't think this was his style of pranking, or the style of anyone else she knew for that matter.

"Ash this isn't funny," she said worriedly just waiting for him to pop up and say 'Gotcha Myst' and smile at her with that cute little smile of his where he cocked his head ever so slightly to the side.  He never did and this only made her more worried than she already was.

She decided to risk waking the little yellow mouse despite the shock she was sure to receive when she did.  She was so worried about Ash that the pain would be worth it just to know that he was ok.  It was at least reassuring to see that Pikachu and the rest of his stuff were still there.

"Pikachu," she called softly nudging the electric rodent lightly.  

If she wasn't so damn worried about Ash she wouldn't have risked it or would have at least gone down to the kitchen to grab a pair of rubber gloves first, but love makes you do strange things.  It messes with your mind and seems to defy the laws of common sense, or at least make you forget all about them for the time being.

Too bad she hadn't had the rubber gloves.

"Pikachuuu!" he screamed waking from a rather nice dream about ketchup.

"Good morning pikachu," Misty breathed as she twitched unnaturally before falling to the ground.

"Pika," he replied embarrassedly blushing slightly.  "Pika, chu, pikachupi pika chu pik?  Chu chu pikapi?" he asked.  ((What are you doing here Misty? Spying on Ash?))

It was now Misty's turn to blush and the electric rodent smiled in response.  "I was going to wake him up, but he's not here," Misty replied.

"Pi," Pikachu said finally realising that his master was nowhere to be found.  He shrugged his shoulders as if to say I don't know before curling back into his sleeping position.

"Some friend you are," she muttered as she pulled her fingers through her slightly singed hair.  "This better not give me split ends."

She decided to go downstairs and find something to take her mind off Ash, not an easy task I might add seeing as it was constantly there.

First she tried watching some TV, but the only worthwhile thing on was last years Indigo semi-finals.  Like that was going to help, Ash had been a part of last years Indigo semi-finals.  She needed a new plan.

She then tried to catch up on the gossip and try out some light reading with a few of her sister's magazines.  The magazine opened at a page on up and rising Pokemon league stars.  Again her efforts were quite futile.

So she decided to try listening to some music that was usually pretty good at turning her mind away.  Without bothering to check she turned on the CD player and pressed play.  After a few seconds came the room was filled with a silky male voice backed up by several other silky male voices all singing to the same silky love ballad.

" . . . I'm too shy to ask, I'm too proud to loose, but sooner or later I got to choose.  And once again I'm thinking about, taking the easy way out . . ."

Westlife, Greatest Hits, (A/N: only the greatest album ever) a rather well deserved Christmas present from herself which she almost regretted right now.  Like perfectly harmonised love ballads were going to take her mind off Ash.  

For obvious reasons, that one didn't work as well as she thought it would.

_'Just great,'_ Misty thought to herself.  _'A song about a guy who's in love with a girl but too scared to lose what he has so now he has to choose whether it's worth it.  How ironic?'_

So in the end Misty settled on cooking, something that though closely related to Ash, required far too much of her concentration to let it stray, something she would be eternally grateful for.

"Hey Misty, you're up early," Lilly said as she entered the kitchen to find Misty cooking breakfast for all of them something that was very rarely seen in the Waterflower residence especially with her away so often.  

"I guess I had a weird dream and couldn't get back to sleep," Misty shrugged not taking her eyes off the smouldering batter.  "I thought I'd be nice and make my sisters breakfast."

"I like told you and Ash not to like eat that pizza, but no you just like wouldn't listen now would you?" Lilly scolded teasingly feeling the regular sense of pride that any of them would get from being right.

Misty sighed and rolled her eyes.  "Speaking of Ash," she said almost shyly, "you wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?  When I checked his room it was empty apart from Pikachu and his things."

"Like really Misty," Lilly said her voice full of disappointment and shock, "do you like expect me to keep tabs on _your_ boyfriend?  How on earth are you like going to get anywhere when you keep like losing him?"  Lilly giggled to herself as her little sister began to turn red with anger, or maybe it was embarrassment, either way she won.

"He's not my boy . . ." she was cut short suddenly by a question out of nowhere that she just had to ask.  "Where did I go to school?" she asked curiously unsure of why she had the sudden urge to ask such a question.

"Um . . . well," Lilly started confused by Misty's sudden mood swing.  "As far as I remember you stayed with aunt Sophia and went to school wherever she was before dad got really sick and you had to come back.  I don't remember where she was living at the time though," Lilly replied thoughtfully.

"Where who was living?" Violet asked stretching as she entered the kitchen.  "Breakfast smells good Misty.  Is that just for you and Ash or the rest of us too?"

Misty scowled at her sister who backed away seeing how dangerously she was holding the spatula.

"Aunt Sophia," Lilly replied answering her sister's question.  "Remember when Misty was staying with her."

"Oh that's easy," Daisy said suddenly entering the kitchen and conversation with complete ease.  "She was living in Pallet Town."

"I bet you even like went to the same school as Ash," Violet mused teasingly.  "You could have even been in the same class, I mean like considering how the years systems work."

"And I bet she was probably just as in love with him then as she is now," Daisy giggled more to her other sisters than Misty who seemed to be lost in her own little world of thought.

"Misty," Violet asked in a sing song voice as she waved her hand in front of her face.  "Misty something's like burning," she said.

"Huh," Misty said coming out of her trance and sniffing the air.  "My pancakes!"

It took only a few hours to get back to Cerulean thanks to his new zest of energy which allowed him to run all the way there in almost half the time.  By the time he was got to the 'Welcome to Cerulean City' sign it was almost eleven.

He was making his way past a jewellery store near the city centre when he suddenly realised that he hadn't gotten Misty a present.  Misty was a hopeless romantic and no matter what today's outcome may be, whether it be friends or lovers, Misty expected a present especially on today of all days.

He stopped for a moment to check out the window display and something there immediately caught his eye.  It was perfect and he knew he had to get it.

He rushed in and bought it before continuing to the Cerulean City Gym where Misty resided.

Ash knocked on the door panting heavily as he tired to catch his breath after all the running and walking and moving in general that he'd done in the last nine hours alone.  All he wanted to do was lay down and not move for a while but he still had one more place he had to go to, one more thing he had to say before he collapsed.

"Ash!" Daisy exclaimed as she opened the door.  "Misty has been looking like everywhere for you.  Are you okay?" she asked inspecting him carefully.

"Could you get Misty for me?" he asked in between breathing in general.

Daisy nodded watching him suspiciously as she went to go get Misty.  She was sure Ash had a hefty explanation for the fact that he looked like he had spent the night in the bush and she would just have to get it out of Misty later.

Misty came downstairs a few seconds later already dressed for tonight's main event in a scarlet dress that accented her red hair.  She looked perfect and it made Ash lose his breath all over again.  His eyes moved up to her face where she held an expression both worried and confused as she too studied Ash incredously.

He was in regular attire, faded blue jeans, black t-shirt, which Misty gladly appreciated as it clung in all the right place, with a jacket over top.  The hat had been long since forgotten when he gave it to a little kid one day who he said had reminded him of himself.

It wasn't the clothes exactly that worried her, it was the more the fact that they looked awfully dishevelled and somehow seemed messier than usual.  Not to mention that the twigs and dirt here and there did seem awfully suspicious.

Ash smiled at her, setting her heart on fire as he silently led her to a part of Cerulean that nobody, not even Cerulean natives like Misty knew about.  It was a part of Cerulean that he had found in his dreams.

Misty continued to study him as she finally worked up the courage to ask the question that seemed to be plaguing her mind.  "Why did you bring me here?" she asked eying him for a reaction.  "I mean it's beautiful and all, it really is, but why?"

The place truly was beautiful from the light snow covered field to the struggling daisies and larkspur fighting against winters chill simply to decorate these already beautiful surroundings.

She rested on an empty tree stump as she watched Ash pace nervously in front of her.  She suppressed a giggle for his sake.

"I need to tell you something," he told her after working up enough courage just to say that much.

"Is it about where you were this morning?" she asked giving him the opening he needed.

"In a way," he told her quietly.

"Then where did you go?" she asked her eyes full of sincere curiousity.

He pointed towards a small river winding through the Viridian forest a few miles or so away leading to a secluded waterfall and lake, which belonged to them.

"Well that explains a few things," she joked.

He smiled.  "Someone once told me to follow my heart, to take a walk and see where it leads me.  That's where it led me."

Misty urged him to continue still wondering where he was going with all this.

He let out a deep nervous breath as he finally stopped his pacing and turned to face her.  "I wish someone had told me how hard this was going to be," he sighed more to himself than Misty as he let out a nervous laugh.

He closed his eyes preparing himself, prepping himself for all the things he longed to say to her right now.  "Misty, sometimes I look at you and I forget how to speak," he said speaking the first things that came to his mind.  "I have all these clever and romantic things that I want to say to you, and then you look at me and I simply forget them all, it's like you stupefy me with a single glance.

"And sometimes," he continued building up her suspense, "all you have to do is breathe my name and I'm on top of the world.  There are times when I'm so down that I think I'll never be able to get back on my feet again, but then you smile at me, or you just say something, anything and I feel like I could fly.

"I look at you and I can feel my heart pumping rapidly in my chest," he told her putting his hand to his heart.  "It's so loud I wonder why you don't hear against the silence and chatter.

"You were always there for me Misty, and you've always been the most important person in my life," he told her truthfully.  "It just took me a while to figure out what all that meant."

"And what does that mean?" she asked struggling to find her voice as she tried her best to remain even semi-calm.

_'Just breath, just breathe'_ she told herself trying to remain calm as she could crossing her fingers for good luck and whispering a little prayer of hope.

"It means I love you," he smiled at her.  "That I'm in love with you and I always have been."

At that very moment Misty felt as though she was on top of the world.  She felt like dancing around the streets of Cerulean singing his name and telling the world that Ash Ketchum was in love with her.

But first she had to tell him something, if only she could get her mouth to work.

_'Speak!' _she screamed at herself.  _'Say something damn it or he's going to think you don't feel the same way about him.'_

"I . . . I . . . I," she stuttered so over come by shock and happiness it was the only thing she could say just then.

"It's alright Misty I understand, we can . . ." he started but was cut off as Misty brushed her lips against his in mid sentence.

"I love you too Ash," she told him as she pulled and looked into his deep chocolate brown eyes.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that," he sighed contently as he leaned in to a kiss.  

He gently caressed her face bringing it closer to his own before brushing his lips against hers in a kiss that would be implanted in both their memories for eternity.

"Happy Valentines Day," he whispered as he gently ran his fingers through her hair.  He stopped as he suddenly remembered something that he had picked up along the way.

"Here Misty," he said handing her a velvet covered oblong box.

"Ash, you shouldn't have," Misty insisted.

"What, aren't I allowed to buy my girlfriend a present?" he asked pouting at her playfully.

She smiled back at him.  "Well when you put it that way," she replied.  

She carefully opened the box to reveal a long silver chain.  Hanging on the chain was a pendant shaped like a dratini wrapped around a sapphire. (A/N: as you can all probably tell I love Sapphires so any jewellery will obviously be made of sapphires rather than diamonds)

"It's beautiful," she whispered as though she was afraid that talking too loud would break it.

Ash carefully took the necklace and sat behind her as he wrapped it around her neck.  "Not nearly as beautiful as you, my dear," he whispered huskily in her ear causing Misty to blush.

"Here," Misty said handing him a carefully wrapped present.  "It's not really much, but I heard you needed it for your collection."

Inside was a comic, one of the rarest of all.  He had been looking for this for as long as he could remember and now he had it.

"No wonder I love you," he smiled as he gently kissed her cheek.

She smiled as she relaxed into his body just wishing that she could spend forever in his arms.  Wishing that they could just be likes this till the end of time.

Wishing that wishes like that always came true.

 ~ to be continued ~

OMG, there is only one more chapter of this to go and then it's over.  I'm so going to miss this fic!

Anyway, I know Ash's decision was fairly obvious but hey who cares, as long as it's AAML I don't.  I also know that Viridian Forest is no where near cerulean and that even running it would most likely take Ash more than a matter of hours to get there and back but it's called a 'poetic license' for a reason and this is probably it.

And to Ash and Misty forever, if you're reading this, I'll be posting the next Reason's chapter next weekend and then the every three weeks after that.

Etherelemental – I didn't know that about the flowers, I just thought that they were really pretty.

Thanks to all that reviewed and everything, I'll have a huge thank you list up for the lat chapter.


	7. Standing at the Beginning With You

"Love _n._ an intense emotion of affection, warmth, fondness, and regard towards a person or thing." - Definition from Collins English Dictionary.

Disclaimer – in the spirit of happy endings, yes I do own Pokemon and it makes me very, very happy!  In the spirit of not wanting to be sued for every penny I'm worth and losing my entire collection of boy band pictures, CD's and memorabilia, I don't own Pokemon and please disregard my previous statement.

Valentines Verse : Lost Lyrics

Part VII – Standing at the Beginning With You 

The Cerulean sisters were anxious, here was their party in full swing and the guests of honour had failed to return.  I mean sure, they didn't know they were the guests of honour, but that was simply beyond the point.

It had been hours since Ash had turned up looking as though he spent the night in the forest, then taking their baby sister away with him to god knows where.  They wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if the two didn't turn up at all.

They'd just be angry.  It would be a complete waste of their Forget-me-nots, the Valentines equivalent of Mistletoe ploy they had spent the better half of the year perfecting.  They tiny sprigs of flowers were hung around the house anywhere that Ash and Misty were likely to stand together, in doorways, in every corner, over the food table.  All the party goers had been warned to stay away from Ash and Misty when they were under these to make sure that those two would be forced to kiss at least once this evening.

Lilly paced back and forth in front of the door while her sisters tried to busy themselves with hostess details.

She was the first to notice the telltale sound of a key turning in the lock and the furtive giggle of her youngest sister with her best friend they had come to associate with her happiness.

"Stop right there you two!" Lilly demanded as they stood together in the doorway, directly under the forget-me-nots.

Misty's eyes widened in surprise positive that her sisters already knew about her and Ash.  She wasn't sure how they knew, but something told her it was the only possible conclusion.

"Lilly, I . . ." she began to explain but was cut off by her sister.

"You can't say a single thing to worm your way out of this Misty," Lilly told her commandingly.  "It's a Valentines tradition so go ahead."

"What?" Misty asked rather confused as to what Lilly was going on about now.

"You're under the forget-me-nots, that means you have to kiss," Lilly said with a coy innocence.

"I guess if it's a Valentines tradition," Ash sighed woefully winking at his girlfriend while Lilly wasn't looking.

Lilly quickly motioned for her sisters to come over and bring the camera with them.  They knew that it would merely be a quick peck on the cheek, but it would be a monumental moment in the Ash and Misty Saga they cooked up in their heads.

As you can imagine, what Ash really did surprised them emmensely.  Actually more than that, they were staggered beyond comprehension

He wrapped his arms around her waist and dipping her gracefully tango style before he passionately kissed her lips.  He only wished they could see the Cerulean sister's surprised faces when they finally came up for air, but he knew it was best to leave this matter up to Misty. 

"Gotta go change, can't quite rightly go into a party looking like a spent last night in a forest," Ash said as he raced up stairs leaving Misty to deal with her sisters as she was already in her 'glad-rags' and ready to play Hostess number four at her sister's latest shindig.

"But you did spend last night in a forest," Misty called after him angrily.  To think he had left her all alone to deal with her three demon sisters.

"Well . . ." she began searching for the words to create a similar emotive response from her sisters.

The three of them all held identical frowns as they wondered when Ash had got so brave as to actually kiss their little sister on the lips let alone in the fashion he had.  Lilly's hands rested on her hips while Daisy tapped her foot impatiently and Violet bit her nail in a state of nervous thoughtfulness.

_'Damn you Ash Ketchum'_ Misty thought to herself.  _'He is so getting it when I'm done here.'_

"I'm going to go mingle," Misty stated off the top of her head.  "If my boyfriend comes down this way can you tell him I'll be near the food table?" she asked sweetly.

With that she walked off not turning back till she was at safe distance where she could watch her sisters come to the correct realisations.

Misty smiled with satisfaction as her sisters faces contorted into blonde recognition.  Their eyes bulged with shock and their mouths literally hit the floor as her words began to really sink in.

A word they borrowed from one of their favourite animes echoed through the house.  

"HHHHHHOOOOOOEEEEEE!!!!!!"

Now everything was right in the world.  It seemed there was only one thing that could make the moment more perfect.

Her smile widened as her wish came true and she felt two powerful arms wrap themselves around her slim waist.

"What are you thinking?" he whispered softly in her ear probably referring to the almost sinister smile plastered across her perfect face.

"Well before you came along," she said slowly turning around to face him, "I was wondering if anyone got a picture of my sisters faces so I could frame it for them," she began smiling smugly.

"But now," she continued after planting a quick kiss on his lips, "I'm wondering how I could possibly make this moment last forever."

"Anything I can do to help?" Ash asked teasingly as he encircled his arms tighter around her waist and pulled her into a gentle waltz.

"You already have," she replied seriously resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes.

He smiled softly as the music became slower and a familiar song began to surround them pulling their deeper into their dance.

Misty sang along softly remembering the way her mother used to sing this song to her whenever she was scared or upset or even as a happy lullaby to gently lull her to sleep.  The song had belonged to her and her mother but now it seemed it was for herself and Ash to always be remembered as the first song they had danced to together.

It was almost as if her mother was handing it to them, as a gift to start the new road they were to journey upon.  She turned her head towards the heavens where she was sure her mother was looking down upon her mouthing the words 'Thank you' without even knowing how much she had really done.

She could almost hear her mothers voice singing the words along with her as she shared a dance with the man she would love for the rest of her life.

_"Some day,_

_When I'm awfully low_

_And the world is cold_

_I will feel a glow_

_Just thinking of you_

_And the way you look tonight_

_You're lovely_

_With your smile so warm_

_And your cheeks so soft_

_There is nothing for me_

_But to love you_

_And the way you look tonight_

_With each word_

_Your tenderness grows_

_Tearing my fears apart_

_And the laugh_

_That wrinkles your nose_

_Touches my foolish heart_

_You're lovely_

_Please don't ever change_

_Keep that breathless charm_

_Darling, please arrange it_

_Cause I love you_

_Just the way you look tonight."_

And still they continued to dance even when the music had ended, simply content with being in each others arms.

Ash smiled down at her wondering what their life would be like together.  Perhaps deep in the abysses of his mind he already knew, but for his sake it had all been blocked out.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked curiously as he studied her face intently.

"Nothing, everything is perfect," he replied not even trying to stop his words from coming like he often had before, it's not like it would do much good anyway.  "Just embedding every detail of this moment into my memory so I will always remember how beautiful you are tonight," he told her remembering the words of the song they had previously been dancing to.

Misty blushed at the compliment and casted her eyes down towards her feet on reflex.  She still wasn't used to this, but she knew she would eventually even if it took the rest of their lives.

Ash gently moved one of his hands from around her waist.  He caressed her face and lifted it towards his own before planting a light kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," He spoke softly not even the slightest tone of doubt or uncertainty in his voice.

Misty smiled at her boyfriends genuine sincerity as she stared up into his chocolate brown eyes.  To think that only a few hours ago they had just been best friends – no more, no less – and now they were everything she ever dreamed of.

"Ditto," she teased happily in reply.

"Is that the best you've got?" he questioned with a playful pout.

Misty smiled as she leaned in for a kiss turning at the last possible second.  She planted soft butterfly kisses against his cheek as she breathed huskily in his ear at little more than a whisper, "I love you too Ash Ketchum . . .

"Daddy," he heard his daughter call as she and her mother arrived home from kindigarten.

"I'm upstairs," Satoshi called to them taking his fingers off the keyboard and eyes off the luminisant computer screen.  "I'll be down in a sec, I just need to finish this."

He was waiting for inspiration to hit, just as he had for the past twenty minutes, and quite frankly it was wearing on his patience.  He was about this close to giving up all together.

"Can I give it to daddy now mommy?" he heard his little girl ask his wife from somewhere downstairs.  He presumed the reply was a silent yes by the loud pounding of her climbing clumsily up the stairs.  Kasumi always said she got that from him.

The four year old walked into the room with her hands clasped suspiciously behind her back.  Her brilliant cerulean blue eyes identical to Kasumi's, were filled with excitement and anticipation as they watched him from underneath her messy ebony locks in a half fallen ponytale.

"Here daddy," she said happily thrusting out her gift towards him.

He smiled down at her with chocolate brown eye barely even noticeing the object in her tiny hands as he accepted it from her.  It was obvious she had made it herself and that she had gone to a bit of trouble to spell out 'I love you daddy' across the top in pasta letters even if it wasn't perfect, but he didn't care what it was, it was special no matter what.

"Sakura you shouldn't have," he told her sweetly as he pulled her into her lap and hugged her tightly.  "I'm going to put it here on my desk so I can look at it all the time."

"No daddy," she replied with a happy giggle.  "It goes by the window so it can catch the sun."

"Oh I see now," he nodded as he rolled the computer chair over to the window and placed the minature stained glass window in the center.

"Isn't daddy silly?" Kasumi commented to their child as she appeared in the doorway.  "Everyone knows it goes in the window."

"You're right," Satoshi replied with a smile as he gazed at her, his wife of seven years, lovingly, "it definitely goes in the window."

"So are you finished yet?" she asked as she peaked at the computer screen from over his shoulder.

Satoshi sighed.  "I just can't seem to get this ending right," he said exasperatedly as he turned back to the almost annoyingly blank screen.

"That's easy," Sakura giggled.  "Like in Cinderella daddy, they all lived happily ever after."

"Perhaps . . ."

Richard Bach, a famous authour, once said that "real love stories never have endings" so I guess this isn't really an ending, just the closing words on a very important chapter in the lives of Misty Kasumi Waterflower and Ashton Satoshi Ketchum because they truly did live happily ever after till the end of their days.

~ The End . . . Or better said . . . The Beginning ~

Ash+Misty=4EVA – I assure you, you don't want to see the first one.  It really is beyond embarrassing especially at some parts.  I mean what kind of lunatic would turn Misty into a cheerleader?!

Queen of Games – Thank you so much for that.  It means a lot to me that you felt my fic was worth a review.

Joy-girl – Thank you again for the idea to use Misty's parents, or as the case was, just the one of them.  Also the suggestion that they didn't necessarily have to be dead gave me the idea to use Misty.

Lord Cynic – Thank you for all your reviews.  I never really liked Rudy either or so him as much at all.  I thought Misty was just being nice because of his sister.

Saint_Tail02 – Was that slow enough?  Anyway, thank you for your review

Arcanine Gal 242 – Thank you for your review and I hope you enjoyed it.

Jason – Hope you liked the way it finished.

Aki Akito – Sorry about the wrong name.  I got it from a script for the movie but it was one that had been translated from the original Japanese one I think, so it had a lot of the Japanese names and things in there instead.  I never realised until I read it just how much 4Kids had tried to push the whole Ash and Misty thing.

Waqaar – Thank you for the review and I hope again that you liked how it ended.

Serenityblossom – Thank you, all these reviews mean so much to me

Rae – Thank you, I tried to find a quote that suited them for each chapter kind of just to sum things up.  My favourite was the one in the second chapter from Sweet Home Alabama, whenever I watch that movie I almost always see Ash and Misty in the place of Jake and Melanie.

Eclipse – Thank you for the review.  I hope you liked it.

Karoi-chan aka Prof.Clo – Like I said before, I got it from the Japanese translation so it's a bit different.  Thanks for the review

Misfit – I was actually pretty close to using that idea about the daughter but because she wouldn't necessarily exist depending on Ash's decisions I had to stick with Misty, but it was still a great idea.  Thank you.

Kit Kat – Thank you for the review and everything.

Gtloveskittles – Thank you for you review, it meant a lot to me.

The Duke of Fenwick – Wow, I never knew that about St. Valentine.  I just thought he was a priest who got sent to jail for illeagal marriages.  Kind of wish I'd known about the severed head, it would have made one hell of a wake up call for Ash.

Cybersten – I guess all I can say is that I love cliffhangers, but only as long as I'm doing them.  I can't help it, I guess I just like to get that sort of response out of people.

. . . – I hope my explanation satisfied you and I know the end is kind of clichéd and expected but I can't help it, I'm completely incapable of sad endings and what not.  Thank you for your reviews.  I tried not to draw the end out to much and I'm already working on six new fics, which I want everyone's opinions on so I can prioritise them.

ZetaBee – Thank you for your review.

Casey – Thank you so much.  I didn't actually think anyone would like the songs too much but I just liked the thought of Misty being so overcome with grief and what not that she had to find a new dream to fill the empty void Ash left her with.  Plus Misty just has that performance air about her, I mean she is a Sensational Sister even if she is the runt.

Charizard – Thank you, I hope it was all worth the wait.

Ash and Misty Forever – Thank you.  The story is based on 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens, but only the basic plot.  I tried to stray away from it as much as possible and in the process had to leave out my favourite part at the end with Tiny Tim but I guess in the end it was better for it.  

Pikagurl23 – Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed it.

Solo – Wow thanks.  I never expected this sort of response.  

Etherelemntal – I'd really love if you could send me all that stuff on flowers and things.  It would probably help me to add a little something to the other fics I'm working on right now.  I love Sapphires and their my birthstone which is why I put it in rather than a diamond ring, I also have an extreme dislike for regular gold and thus the white gold.  By the way, I think that Ash would be a Ruby and Brock might be an Emerald or no matter how cliché this is, an Onyx.

Kevin – Thank you for your review and everything

::::;::;: - Thank you for your review.

Dancergal06 – Thank you for your review, I hope you liked how things turned out.

Angel of the Night – Yeah sorry about them.  I was trying to figure out a way to make it clear without having to put a time period on everything so that was the best way to do it.  Thank you for your review.

Maniac Mosli – Well I'm glad my efforts weren't futile, though towards the end I did get a little bit lazy but what do you expect.  Anyway, thanks for the review.

Shadow Fox – Thank you for your review

Ashla – Thank you so much.  It's truly amazing the way people have responded to this fic.

Ok right now that's all said, I want to thank everyone who read this fic even if you didn't review and I'd also like your opinions on something.  Currently I'm working on seven fics, all Pokemon and I want to know which ones you like the best so I can make that my priority.  So for the nest few updates I will have samples from each of the fics for you to read and in the final Reason's of the Heart Update I'll have a basic summary for each one.

So here are three of them to get the ball rolling.

Dude Where's My Plot?

Lord Elrond's eyes went wide as he saw all the bright lights and cameras around the stage.  He grabbed a microphone and reminisced his days as 'Pricilla: Queen of the Dessert'.

"Once I was afraid, I was petrified," he began to sing in his perfect drag queen manner.  He was glad that this time he had a classier wig and outfit to balance out the act.  "I didn't think I could go on with out you by my side.  But then I spent so many nights just thinking how you did me wrong, and I grew strong and I learnt how to get along.  And now I'm back, from middle earth.  I just walked in to find you hear with that sad look upon your . . . people what rhymes with earth?" he yelled stopping his song.

"Worth?" Pippin suggested coming out of his hiding place for just a second.

"Ok, people. Focus," Peter Jackson said stopping all the insanity in its tracks. 

"Now you, rock boy," he said once he was sure he had everyone's undivided attention.  "You are a tree, now I want you to act like a tree.  Not a rock, a tree.  Now show me what it's like to be a tree.  Can you be a tree for me?"

Brock looked at him blankly for a second, but did what he said as he was semi afraid of what the man could do.

"Right now you two, and you get in there too Pip," he said after gesturing to both the Jessica's.  "You three are going to be birds."

"Excuse me," Virgo said angrily.  "Nobody tells me what to do, and I am not going to be some screwed up bird.  Now if you don't . . ."

"Why you little . . ." Jesse screamed as she lunged out of her seat and towards Brock.  "I swear I am going to knock you all the way back to the Rennaisance."

"You want a piece of me," Brock asked standing up and gesturing to him self as if she couldn't take it.

"You bet I do," Jesse said lunging at him once again.

And thus the beginning of the massive abusive fights that both shows were quite famous for.

Jesse dug her long nails into Brocks skin while he tugged harshly at her strawberry coloured hair.  Both were already starting to draw blood, especially Brock who had taken to biting Jesse, when a score of security guards tried to pull them a part.  Nothing seemed to be working, not the ice, not the fire not the itching powder.

It seemed there was only one thing left to do.

"Ok how about I call in another guest," Virgo smiled glancing at bloodied, burning and glacial Brock as her smile lost its innocence.  "From the Orange Islands it's Professor . . ."

She was cut off immediately by some kind of grotesque animal howl that strangely enough wasn't Jesse's fault.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ok so it wasn't an animal cry, it was Brock screaming and 'crying like three little girls'. (For you Kris)

"Don't say that name," Brock sobbed rocking himself back and forth as tears streamed down her, opps I mean his, face.  "Don't say that name."

"And I wasn't going to," she told him sending him a glare, "if you'd let me finish I was going to say Professor **Oak's** assistant, Tracey Sketchit."

I'll Take the Tears 

_Two households, both alike in dignity_

_In fair Kanto where we lay our scene_

_From new age grudge break to old mutiny_

_Where there lies no blood but hands remain unclean_

_From forth the fatal wounds of these now foe_

_A pair of star-crossed lovers take on their lives_

_Lives of misadventure and worlds unknown_

_And with their love bury their parents' strife_

_The fearful passage of an endless love_

_And the continuance of their parents' rage_

_Which only their children can remove_

_And in this previous love we set our stage_

_'Tis now our patient ears slip to the past_

_To the once known love that did not last_

"Go," Ash replied.  "I heard Gary was looking for whores.  I'd say good luck Misty, but frankly I just don't really give damn what you do."

Misty shot Ash a glare and pursed her lips as she pulled together her things.  Togepei cried quietly in her arms as she tried her best to calm it, but all that it really wanted was for its mommy and daddy to be happy.

"Happy Birthday Misty," she muttered to herself as she walked away from the campsite and everything that mattered in her life.

Ash watched the girl go regrettably as he searched for the strength to call her back and tried to remember when everything had just started to go wrong. 

"I love you," he whispered so quietly that even those still in the campsite didn't hear his last words to the girl he loved.

He couldn't believe that his last moments with Misty, could be so bad.  All his life he had hoped that his last moments with Misty would be years from now when they died in each others arms.

He knew that if she ever left it would be painful, but this; this was beyond painful.  It was excrutiating and all he wanted to do was lay down and die.

After all, he had no reason to live anymore.  His reason had just ran out of his life, just up and left him with no one to blame but himself.  

And he did.

On Angels Wings 

At times she just wished they would go away.  She wished she hadn't been blessed, been chosen to be one of his almighty angels, a protector of the innocent, the fallen and the protected.  She wished she could just be one or the other, human or angel, not both.

But she wasn't, she was like some kind of angelic half-breed.  It would be so much easier just to be one and not the other.  As an angel she could be withdrawn from the worlds pain more easily and focus only on her case.  She wouldn't get attached and she could distance herself from their cries.

As a human she could ignore the cries altogether, not hear them begging for mercy, wishing for her.  As a human their cries were meaningless hollers on the wind.  As a human she could cry along with them.

She wished that was all they were, nothing more than the wind.

Misty tensed as she felt another presence move in on her little world.  She looked up to see one of her best friends standing before her.

"Hey," Misty smiled.

"Hey Kaz," she replied in her thick French accent.

"It's Misty now," she replied quietly.

"Sorry Myst," Emilie replied her angelic face emotionless even though a sly smile could be heard in her voice.

Misty laughed.  It was refreshing to feel the laughter flowing through her and the smile pulling at her lips.  It reminded her just how much of her was human.

"So . . ." Misty started but was cut off when she heard someone call her name.

"Misty," they called again.

"Over here Ash," she called closing her notebook.

Ash walked over to Misty's secluded little clearing and looked around.

"What?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

"Nothing," Ash said blushing slightly.

_'**God I would kill to be able to read his thoughts right now,' Misty said to Emilie.**_

_'**Exnee on the sixth commandment, ay,' Emilie replied.**_

Misty giggled.  Ash's blush deepened thinking she was laughing at him.

Unbeknownst to Ash, Emilie walked around him inspecting him from each angle just as her sisters had at the gym.

Misty rolled her eyes.  _'**Why do people always do that whenever they see him?**' Misty asked.  ___

Emilie shrugged.  _'**He's pretty cute for a mortal, don't you think?'**_ Emilie mused. **__**

Now it was Misty's turn to blush.

So that's a few of the samples.  If you have any comments on them don't be afraid to review.

Thanks again for all the reviews.


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